The FastDay Forum

my Aubergine dip... or Baba Ganoush with a bit of grilled capsicum and chilli too



Char grilled eggplant, chargrilled Capsicum, grilled chilli, Tahini (sesame paste), garlic, lemon juice, crushed cumin seeds, salt and yoghurt. Yum. Served with toasted lebanese bread or slices of sourdough bread.

leave some of the black skin for a smoky flavour


pics from the weekend.

My grilled eggplant, capsicum and chilli

the finished dish

[Tracieknits]

OMG Juliana - you're making me hungry for baba gannoush! And the closest place for me to get it is over 1/2 hour away - PLUS it's going to be a high of well below freezing today, so firing up the barbeque is not exactly an option LOL

Now @Juliana.Rivers That looks amazing and would love it just as it is before the blending I tried something similar with the BBQ last summer and now I've found all the other "new" to me veg I will when our weather permits try again to eat as a sort of medley.

Here's another nice idea for the barbe, @sue.qand everybody else who likes aubergine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZlamLOQSi8

Completely coincidentally, I have been having babaghanoush every day for my non-fast dinners. I could probably have it for fast days, too, but I wasn't sure of the calories (I use a lot of olive oil to fry the eggplant, and I didn't think to measure it), plus the bread I have it on might push me over 500 cal. I needed something healthy and simple for non-fast days. Japanese eggplant (nasu) is so lovely.

A friend from Hong Kong gave me this recipe:
mince chicken or pork (100-200g)
aubergine (I use about 4 Japanese ones, 1 large American one would be fine)
1-2 small pieces of ginger
1-2 cloves garlic
star anise
fermented bean sauce ((豆瓣醬)
cilantro

1) Marinate minced meat with 1-2 tablespoon soysauce, 1/3 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon corn starch for 15 min
2) Heat up oil using medium to high heat, stir fry eggplants* for a few minutes, until they start getting soften a bit
3) Add ginger, garlic, star anise, 1-2 tablespoon fermented bean sauce and meat (to your liking, taste the sauce before you put in, so that you know how salty it is), stir fry until everything is mixed, add some water like 1/2 cup if you feel like the mixture is too dry
4) Turn the heat down to low and cover with lid, until meat is cooked through and eggplants are softened, stir from time to time to prevent burning
5) Sprinkle some cilantro if you like

*I always salt the eggplant for awhile first, then give it a good rinse. I'm paranoid about bitterness.

Warning, not low calorie, but healthy fats:

I love fried eggplant. The other night I sliced it in about 1/2 inch rounds, dipped it in a beaten egg, then in cracker crumbs and fried in butter. Salt to taste. Put half on my plate, half in fridge...went back and ate the second half before it had time to get cold.

My favorite guacamole is avocado, equal amount of halved grape tomatoes, and feta cheese (the secret ingredient), and about 1/2 squeezed lemon per avocado...salt to taste. Remember to put the avocado pit back in your dip to keep it from turning brown...will stay nice for days in fridge.

Asparagus soup. I grew up in Idaho and we used to ride horses along fence lines and pick asparagus...laundry bags full. Imagine my shock when I first saw it for sale in stores. Soup is still my favorite. Snap it into bite size pieces, cook in pressure cooker (or simmer) until soft, add milk, butter, salt and pepper....serve with crackers. Can make the soup with canned asparagus too, drain the liquid and add milk and seasonings.

I love aubergines! Stuffed, fried, roasted, baba ghanoush and muttabal. Love them in moussaka and imam biyaldi which is a salad with tomato sauce and onions.

Here's a recipe to my family's Bangladeshi aubergine curry.

3/4 big aubergines cut up with seed part removed.
2 large onions
3 green birds eye chillies
Turmeric
Oil coriander
Salt

Halve onions and slice very finely
Add to a pan of oil with a flat tablespoon of salt ( can be adjusted to taste but the salt makes the onions go very soft)
Add the green chillies (also adjust for hotness)
Cook until the onion are soft and mushy
Add enough turmeric to cover the onions ( not sure if amount exactly maybe two teaspoons)
Add in the aubergine and stir until it is all evenly spread with turmeric and onions
Cover on a low/medium heat stirring occasionally until the aubergine is soft
Add fresh coriander for last couple of mins

That recipe can be done with any veg by the way, but seeing as we are on A, aubergine it is

[janeg]

drooling here with al the aubergine recipes, especially as so many don't have tomatoes (the evil fruit)
and it's a fast day
well, what's new? Food porn it is!

I love love love aubergines in Baignan Bharta - Aubergine and potato curry
http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1014830/ ... harta.html

I also love asparagus, tossed in just a drizzle of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, then roasted in a hot oven until started to brown (time depends on how thick the stalks are).

Avocados can be made into a superfast version of guacamole if you have a nice fresh salsa on hand - just mash up an avocado and then add a spoonful or two of salsa until you have the taste/texture you want

Artichokes - I love the classic - steamed and then drenched in butter. But I buy frozen artichoke hearts to add to pasta sautees too.

Hi Tracie, I made this curry tonight yum. (many adjustments but still lovely! thankyou.
Jo