Baba Ghanoush

Taste has ever been so easy.

Basic Baba Ghanoush

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Ingredients:

– 2-3 eggplants

– sprinkle sea salt

– 1 garlic bulb, roasted

– 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

– 1/2 tsp sea salt

– juice of 1/2 a lemon

Serves: 1-2 people

 

Directions:

Remove the stems from the eggplant, slice them in half length-wise, and sprinkle with salt. Cover them in aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until tender and “mashable”.

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Scoop out the insides and put into a bowl.

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Pop the garlic in the oven at the same time you do the eggplants. They will be ready at the same time. For a lesson on how to roast garlic, remember back when…

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Squeeze the garlic out.

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Add the salt, lemon and olive oil.

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Mash the mixture with the back of a fork.

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Serve in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy with toasted pita bread or by the spoonful!

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Bon appetit!

xo Aylin

Roasted Garlic Hummus

What’s not to like about hummus? It’s deeply satisfying, nutritious and an all-around crowd pleaser. And while few people, I among them, ever get sick of the go-to version, it’s always fun to try some new things (have you tried my roasted red pepper hummus?)

Tonight I was in the mood for a rounder flavor, so I pulled out the garlic and the sun-dried tomatoes and tossed ‘em in a wonderfully warm (the roasted garlic was still steamin’) and taste-bud gratifying hummus.

Roasted Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus

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Ingredients:

– 1 head of garlic, roasted (it sounds like a lot, but the flavor tempers when roasted)

– 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

– 1 can chickpeas (14.1 oz)

– 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for at least 15 minutes and then chopped

– 1 1/2 tsp cumin

– 1 tsp salt

– Juice of 1 lemon

– 2 tbsp tahini

– 1/4 extra virgin olive oil

– up to 1/4 cup room-temperature water

Serves: …Please. One.

 

Directions:

Start with the garlic since it will take about 30-45 minutes to roast to perfection. First, take a head of garlic, chop off the tip of one end to expose the garlic.

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Place the garlic in the center of aluminum foil, which you should scrunch up the sides of to mimic a bowl.

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Drizzle about 1 tbsp of extra virgin atop the garlic.

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Pop in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes.

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While that roasts, prepare the rest of the hummus.

To a food processor, add the drained/rinsed chickpeas…

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Next, chop the soaked sun-dried tomatoes and add to the chickpeas.

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Next come the cumin and lemon juice.

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When the roasted garlic is soft (you can check by poking it with a fork), then you can use a fork to comfortably pull out the cloves.

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Add to the food processor with the other ingredients.

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Some salt…

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And, don’t forget the tahini and olive oil, as I almost did Winking smile

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Pulse away until creamy. Depending on the dryness of chickpeas, the lemon and other various factors, you might want to add about 1/4 cup of room-temperature water to thin out the hummus, as it could be too thick for you taste. This won’t affect the taste.

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And serve!

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Eat with vegetable crudités or pita.

Bon apetit!

x Aylin