Tired of salami and cheese cubes?
If you want something yummy but not so meat-and-cheese oriented to put out for guests before dinner or bring to a party, hummus and baba ganoush are perfect for that. This version of baba ganoush has extra lemon, which gives it a nice bright flavor.
How to make Baba Ganoush:
Peel a medium-sized eggplant and cut it into one-inch cubes. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a medium-size frying pan. Saute the eggplant cubes until they are tender and turning brown. You will probably need to add more olive oil as the cubes soak it up. Near the end, add 3 cloves of crushed garlic too.
Once the eggplant and garlic are cooked, mash them with an immersion blender or a fork. Add 1/2 cup of tahini, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the juice of one lemon. Taste and adjust as necessary. Serve warm or cold, with crackers or bread. You might want to also make hummus.
(If you don’t know where to get tahini, look with the hippie peanut butter at your big grocery store.)
Vegetarian or vegan?
Baba ganoush is entirely vegan, and so are the crackers and the bread.
And will baba ganoush keep?
You can eat baba ganoush for a couple of days afterwards, if you keep it in the refrigerator. After that, it starts to get nasty.