Again! So, whenever I make crostini, I have this problem where I can never make just one thing to go on them. At least two toppings, with three being optimal. If I wasn’t simultaneously making brownies, I would have liked to make some tapenade or tomato and avocado topping as well. The avocados here are so cheap. At our hotel in Antigua last weekend, the various courtyards had huge avocado trees in them that were heavy with ripe avocados. It was tempting to climb up and pluck a few, but I resisted.
Anyway, I made up this Baba ganoush from memory and using the ingredients I had on hand in our little Guatemala City kitchen.
- 1 medium eggplant, stabbed several times with a fork and halved
- 2 T evoo, plus more for brushing the eggplant
- 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 lime, juiced (should have been lemon, but whatever)
- 3 T tahini
- 1/2 t sea salt
- 1/4 t ground pepper
- 1/8 t red pepper flakes
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush the flesh of the eggplant halves generously with evoo and bake, skin side up for 30 minutes. (or until fully cooked / the skin starts to deform).
- After the eggplant has cooled (about 15 minutes), scrape out the eggplant flesh with a spoon and discard the skin and stems.
- Roughly chop the eggplant so that there are no big chunks. Stir in the remaining ingredients, adjusting juice and seasonings to taste.
Filed under: DINNER | Tags: barley, eggplant, lemon, olives, onion, salad, tomatoes, vegetarian
Thank you SK! This was delicious! I rarely buy fresh herbs, but since i am making another parsley-heavy dish tonight, i went ahead and got some. I had been looking for a NEW eggplant recipe for some time when i finally went to Smitten Kitchen and found her recipe. It was a little involved – one of those dishes where you can spend the SOLID 50-60 minutes washing, chopping, baking, and working the stove top. But it was worth it.
I will definitely make this one again someday. It was filling and tasty, with enough depth of flavor so that I didn’t feel bad not serving it with anything. A wonderful midweek recipe that you can actually look forward to eating chilled for lunch the next day.
- 1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used 4 baby eggplants)
- 1/2-3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 10 T evoo
- 1 t salt
- 1 t black pepper
- 1 C chopped scallion (or yellow onion)
- 1 1/2 t ground cumin
- 1/2 t ground coriander
- 1/4 t red pepper
- 1 1/4 C pearl barley (8 oz)
- 2 C chicken or veggie broth
- 1/2 C water
- 2 T lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 t sugar
- 1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
- 1/2 C thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
- 1 C chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
- Cook barley: Heat 2 T oil in a large pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and red pepper, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
- While the barley is cooking, toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.
- Make dressing and assemble salad: Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Serve with slices of feta cheese.
Thank you David Lebovitz! This Baba Ganoush was delicious and super easy. My parents have a gas stove top so i had a great time charring the eggplant. As an appetizer for 4 adults, i used only one medium sized eggplant and improvised a little…
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 T creamy peanut butter (you can substitute any nut butter if you don’t have tahini on hand)
- 1 t salt
- 1 T+ 1 t lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, quartered
- 1 t evoo
- 2 T chopped parsley
- 1/2 t red pepper flakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- prick eggplant and char over gas stove burner (so fun).
- roast in preheated oven for 20- 30 min (25 worked for me).
- cool eggplant, scoop out insides, and puree will all other ingredients in food processor till smooth.
- Add additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
