Baba Ganoush - Wife Approved Recipe

Get out the low sodium, glutten-free, baked, organic, mulit-grain crackers for this Wife Approved video recipe of delicious dip: Baba Ganoush.

My wife likes nothing better than watching her fav HBO and Showtime dramatic series with a small package of chips or crackers and a creamy dip nearby.

Eggplant, like a whoopie cushion, deflates into a soft mass after it's baked in the oven for half an hour. While the skin is bitter until cooked, the roasted mushy flesh becomes sweet. Baba Ganoush is finished with a quick spin in a blender or food processor. Serve it as a side -- or, cut pita bread into triangles and serve it as a dip at your next get-together.

An Eggplant just looks funny: a black/purple, oddly shaped, inflated veggie balloon (and, it's as light as one, too.) But, boy does it taste good when prepared my way. The other ingredients are cheap enough: sesame seeds, olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon juice, and a couple of optional ingredients: ground paprika and parsley.

Baba Ganoush, like hummas, is made with Tahini: peanut butter-like, oily, ground sesame seeds. In my video that's what I used. But, I also show you how to make a taste-similar version of Tahini -- easily made by adding a couple of tablespoons of sesame seeds to your coffee grinder (or spice grinder) and blending until it's a powder (it doesn't grind every last seed, but does well enough.) It's the same thing, really, just in a slightly damp powder form. It's the molecular gastronomic version a Top Chef would sprinkle over some deconstructed dish.

If your local market doesn't stock Tahini, and you're not interested in grinding sesame seeds, then you can  substitute with a teaspoon of peanut butter (just don't tell your Middle Eastern dining guests!) Peanut butter has a similar taste, but it's much stronger than Tahini, so you want to use half the amount.  Or, for the easiest option of all, just use sesame oil.  The taste is milder, but it will suffice.

So pull up a chair and check out the 99 Cent Chef's latest Wife Approved recipe video, for Baba Ganoush. It's a fun, stop-motion animated delight of time-lapse deflating eggplants -- full of icky, gooey, veggie innards pulsed into a smooth delectable dip.

  Baba Ganoush - Video
 
Play it here. Video runs 3 minutes, 3 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

• 4 Japanese eggplants - or, 2 regular eggplants. (I got about 1 1/2 cups cooked flesh.)
• 2 tablespoons Tahini - You can make your own by adding 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds to a coffee grinder, and pulverize. Or, just blend in a 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, instead of olive oil. You could even substitute Tahini with a teaspoon of peanut butter.
• 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic - fresh, or from jar.
• 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice - fresh or from a bottle. In the video I used lime.
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil - 2 for blending, and 1 more for drizzling on Baba Ganoush before serving.
• Handful of parsley - or tablespoon of dried. Save a chopped sprig for presentation. Optional.
• 1 teaspoon of paprika - optional.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Slice into one side of the eggplant, or poke it all over with a fork -- you need to do this, or the eggplant may explode into a mess in your oven.

Cover eggplant in a casserole dish, or place in a large pan (or cookie sheet) and cover with foil. I used Japanese eggplant so this was easy to do; however if you are using a more typical large eggplant, poke it, then just wrap it in foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

When eggplant is done, unwrap it and allow to cool for 10 minutes. It will continue to seam and soften in its skin. After it is cool enough to handle, split it open and spoon out the soft flesh into a bowl or plate. Toward the tapering stem, the meat may be stringy, but still usable -- it will mash and blend fine. 

Finally, mix all the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and season with a dash of salt and pepper. Pulse and blend until it is a smooth mass, similar to hummus or cooked grits. You could also just mash it all together with a fork, until the texture is like oatmeal. The flavors deepen and intensify if you let the Baba Ganoush sit covered in the refrigerator for a couple of hours; then set it out until it reaches room temperature.

To serve, just spoon it into a serving bowl and sprinkle on some chopped parsley (optional) and finish with a light drizzle of olive oil. I like to cut up a pita into triangles, for easy scooping. For the carb-wary, substitute with some sliced veggie sticks like carrots, celery, broccoli, or any favorite crunchy veggie. It's fine to just plop some on the plate and use it like a sweet gravy.

Hindsight
As mentioned earlier, peanut butter is a convenient substitution -- just be sure to use half the amount asked for with Tahini. The next time I make it, I will try a version without the powdered paprika, or use even less.

Usually when I get Baba Ganoush at a Persian or Israeli restaurant, they drizzle on olive oil, but you don't have to do this -- to keep things low calorie.

 I got a cup and a half of cooked flesh from the eggplant. Your amount may vary, but don't worry if you have less or more, just roll with it. Baba Ganoush is versatile enough to play around with adding and subtracting the ingredients -- that's what this chintzy chef does all the time, play in the kitchen!

Deal of the Day - Beef Kabob

This is the most unappealing Deal of the Day I've oggled, but it's also one of the most delicious! It looks like something you would not want to step in. However, Culture Classics Beef Kabob is a delicious dynamite stick full of Middle Eastern spices.

The beef log is larger than a hot dog with a nice ground texture that stayed moist when I microwaved it. There is an intense and pleasing tumeric and sumac spice flavor with just a hint of pepper heat.  The beef kabob is nestled in a fat slab of pita bread sprinkled with rice, chopped bell pepper and onions.

frozen & thawed

The one drawback is that the pita gets soggy when micowaved. (Next time I would microwave the beef stick and pita bread until warm, then keep zapping the beef stick, and finish the pita in a frying pan.) A sprinkling of  chopped veggies, while small, gave the plain rice extra flavor. The package advertized a secret sauce, which will remain secret as there was little of it try and analyse. (I'll have to get another kabob and make notes on the secret sauce.)

And for 99 cents it's an incredible flavorful deal I picked up at my new favorite local market, Superior Grocers. I saw it while shopping for a Thanksgiving turkey, it was in the frozen food section (there are also Pork and Chicken Kabobs to try out.) I'm not sure how long these will be sold at this price so I'm getting a stack of them for office lunches.

For a cheap frozen meal I was surprised at the  short list of ingredients. Most frozen fare this inexpensive has a laundry list of additives that takes a Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives to translate.

So, On The 99 Cent Chef's Deal of the Day rating system of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I could take off a point for a slightly soggy pita, but this was such a delicious change of office lunch pace, I'm giving Cultural Classics Beef Kabob a perfect 9 !

For any of you lucky enough to live near a Superior Grocers do pick one up and try it yourself, just be prepared for your office mates to rib you with a few popper scooper jokes.

Falafel Pita Sandwich

I'm not a falafel expert, even though I lived in the Little Armenia enclave of East Hollywood, and visited my share of their eateries and Mom and Pop grocery deli counters. I usually kept my menu selections of  Middle Eastern fare to kebobs, shawarmas, gyros and roasted chicken from Zankou's. Maybe it was spying those dried-looking fried spheres of ground chickpeas under heat lamps that made me skittish to place an order for falafel?

 But after trying this recipe, I am a convert. For this second entree in my February Month of Sandwiches series, I made a vegetarian sammy of homemade Falafel. Man, it turned out great -- so soft and tender on the inside, yet crunchy on the outside - these fried discs of nutty ground garbanzos, flecked with green parsley and pungent onion, garlic and cumin will be in a starring role at our next gathering (Oscar party?) for sure!

You can cook them ahead of time - it only takes 10-15 seconds of microwaving to bring them back steaming (although they are perfectly good at room temperature.) But hot off the stove top and stuffed into a pita - along with my creamy, chunky Cucumber, Yogurt and Honey Relish - is the best way to go.

And of course, all the falafel ingredients are inexpensive -- just the way this Cheapie de Cuisine likes it. I go to a Persian market (Payless International Market) a couple of miles away on Venice Boulevard that stocks dried garbanzo (chickpeas) for $1.29 per pound. I got 2 cups of dried beans for less than a dollar -- and for some reason, checkout only charged me 99 cents per pound - score! You could always use cheap canned (and drained) garbanzo beans or chickpeas. One of my commenters roasted canned cooked garbanzos to firm them up (about 15 minutes at 350 degrees?)

 I have a parsley bush that is producing overtime, and my local Latin market also sells one bunch for less than a dollar. Onions and garlic are cheap, and a small jar of ground cumin is always in my pantry ready to be used for my forays into Western Asian cuisine.

The Falafel directions below seem long, but this entree is simple to make, once the garbanzos are soaked overnight. All you are doing is some rough veggie chopping; a quick blending of the beans and veggies; and frying the falafel patties for 2 minutes on each side. Because the falafel orbs are small, a little extra time is needed to cook them all up (about 20 balls) -- it may take 3 or 4 frying batches, depending how big the pan you use is.

A Falafel Pita Sandwich can be dressed with lettuce and tomato. Middle Eastern eateries often serve Falafel with hummus (my recipe here) or a tahini (mild peanut butter tasting) sauce. I thought a cool and creamy Cucumber, Yogurt and Honey Relish would contrast nicely with hot and crunchy fried orbs of falafel.

Cucumbers and yogurt are cheap, of course, and I always have a half dried-out jar of honey laying around. The relish ingredients combine deliciously -- creamy plain yogurt is very sour, but a tablespoon of microwave-reconstituted honey (or your favorite sweetener) dulls that too-sharp edge. This relish couldn't be easier to make: just julienne half a cucumber and mix it all together. Sweet, crunchy, creamy and fresh.

Because I made a double-sized quantity of falafel, I'm taking some into work today. I'll let you know how they go over (who am I kidding? They're sure to be a hit!) If you want to lower the carb count, leave out the pita -- a plate of falafels with my Cucumber, Yogurt and Honey Relish is good on its own.

Ingredients for Falafel (about 20 small falafel balls, enough for 4-5 sandwiches)

• 1 cup dried garbanzo (chickpea) beans - soak overnight. Double all the ingredients and you have enough for a Falafel Office Party!

• 1/2 bunch of parsley - roughly chopped.
• 1 whole onion - small, roughly chopped.
• 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic - fresh or from jar.
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice - fresh or from plastic. Okay to use lime juice.
• Salt and pepper to taste - optional. I made my falafel balls without salt and pepper this time and thought they tasted fine.
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Ingredients for Cucumber, Yogurt and Honey Relish (or dip)

• 1/2 medium sized cucumber - juilienned (thinly sliced.)
• 1 container plain yogurt - about 6 ounces.
• 1 tablespoon of honey - or any sweetener, to taste. Just enough to take out some yogurt sourness.

Directions for Cucumber, Yogurt and Honey Relish
Slice 1/2 of a cucumber into thin coins. Stack a few coins at a time then slice them into thin strips. Repeat stacking and slicing cucumber coins until done.

Add yogurt, julienned cucumber and one tablespoon of honey (or favorite sweetener) into a bowl. Mix well and set in refrigerator until falafels are cooked. Cucumbers tend to sweat out some liquid - so just before serving you may have to pour out the liquid that settles into pockets across the top of the dip. Give it quick stir and serve.

Directions for Falafel
Soak 1 cup of dried garbanzo beans in about 3 cups of water overnight (about 8 - 12 hours). Chickpeas should double in size when ready - so you get about 2 cups of soft beans when plumped up. Drain and add to a large bowl.

Roughly chop 1/2 bunch of parsley. You have leeway here. I've seen recipes range from calling for at least few sprigs, to much more. Chop onion into small enough chunks to fit into a blender or food processor.

Add parsley, onions and chopped garlic to the bowl of drained garbanzo beans. Next, pour in a tablespoon of lemon juice, and sprinkle on a tablespoon of baking powder. Salt and pepper to taste - optional. Mix ingredients well.

Into a blender or food processor, add falafel mixture in small batches. Pulse the mixer until you get the consistency of damp oatmeal -- roughly chopped, but not pureed like peanut butter.

Empty processed falafel mixture to a bowl and repeat until all the garbanzo bean mixture is finely chopped. (You can make the mixture ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator, until you are ready to form the falafel balls for frying.)

Now it's time to fry the falafel balls. Add 2 cups of oil to a pan or pot over a medium heat. If you have a deep fryer you can use that. You will fry them in batches, depending how large your pan is. I make the falafels tablespoon-sized. Just scoop up a heaping spoonful and pat it lightly on the tablespoon -- to form a roundish disc. Using your fingers, gently slide off falafel ball into the oil. Be careful adding the first falafel balls, as oil may splatter.

Some of the falafel balls may break, but that's okay, you will get better at it the more times you slide them into the oil. They are delicate, but will hold together fine once one side browns. Watch the falafel edges along the bottom and look for a nice brown crust edge to form. It only takes a couple of minutes for each side to brown. (If you are having too much trouble with breaking falafel balls, try refrigerating the falafel mixture for a few hours first, to firm it all up.)

Gently turn falafel ball over. I used a fork (or thin spatula) to loosen the falafel from the pan, and a butter knife, or spoon, to help flip them over. At this point you can let the falafel ball stay round for a moist and soft center, or you can press them down a little bit, to cook them all the way through. It's up to you how well done you like them.

Brown each side. You are looking for a dark, almost chocolate brown, but be careful not to burn them. Once they are browning you can turn them over a few times to reach desired color. When done, set aside on a rack with paper towels to drain.

Now you're ready to assemble a Falafel Pita Sandwich. I like to microwave a round of pita bread for a few seconds, so it slices and opens easily (you can also heat it in a toaster for a minute.) Slice a pita bread in half and scoop in some Cucumber, Yogurt and Honey Relish, then load in some falafel balls - I got about three falafels per pita. Be careful with the first bite, as the falafel balls retain their heat!

Hindsight
For my recipe research, I noticed that a couple of teaspoons of flour is a common ingredient, but I left it out. Maybe it helps hold the orbs together, but I didn't want the flour flavor this time  -- you could add it to help bind the falafels and keep them from breaking up, if you want to. Another interesting ingredient left out was the minty cool herb, cilantro. I would definitely try this next time, but thought, for my first foray, it might overpower the lighter parsley taste.

You could also make the falafel orbs larger than a tablespoon; say twice as big -- golf ball sized. Use an ice cream scooper to size them, or a large serving spoon. Refrigerating the falafel mix for a few hours first, will help hold them together when forming larger balls for frying.

For convenience, a couple of cups of drained canned garbanzo, or chickpeas, can be used in this recipe. But you'll lose some of the nutty texture and flavor of more solid, fresh soaked, garbanzo beans. Canned beans are mushier, but almost taste the same. It also takes less blending time, as canned beans are fully cooked through. As mentioned above, one of my commenters roasted canned cooked garbanzos to firm them up (about 15 minutes at 350 degrees?)

When frying the falafels some ground garbanzo pieces will break off into the oil, so have a spoon (slotted is best) to fish out the blackening pieces each time you add a new batch of falafel discs. Add frying oil as needed. You won't need to add extra if you have a deep fryer -- I kept the oil about an inch deep during the cooking.

You could try a less oily version by baking the formed falafels in the oven -- 350 degrees until browned and done, about 20 - 30 minutes. But, of course, frying is the best way to go -- it's like comparing French fries to baked fries.

I originally made this recipe with 2 cups of dried garbanzo beans and ended up with a large tubful of ground falafel mixture -- enough to feed a party! So the recipe above is half of my original tryout. I'm sure you could freeze any leftover mixture, or just keep it in the refrigerator for a few days to cook up later.

A great thing about fried falafels is they heat up in the microwave quickly. It only takes 10 - 15 seconds to bring them back to steaming hot. But do be careful with your first bite -- as these orbs are excellent heat conductors. To keep the extra crunchy exterior you can bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes to reheat.

Baba Ganoush - Roasted Eggplant Dip Video

Get out the low sodium, glutten-free, baked, organic, mulit-grain crackers for this video recipe of delicious dip: Baba Ganoush.

And, an Eggplant just looks funny: a black/purple, oddly shaped, inflated veggie balloon (and, it's as light as one, too.) But, boy does it taste good in The 99 Cent Chef's latest recipe video. The other ingredients are cheap enough: sesame seeds, olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon juice, and a couple of optional ingredients: ground paprika and parsley.

Eggplant, like a whoopie cushion, deflates into a soft mass after it's baked in the oven for half an hour. While the skin is bitter, the mushy flesh is sweet. Baba Ganoush is finished with a quick spin in a blender or food processor. Serve it as a side -- or, cut pita bread into triangles and serve it as a dip at your next get-together.

Baba Ganoush, like hummas, is made with Tahini: peanut butter-like, oily, ground sesame seeds. In my video that's what I used. But, I also show you how to make a taste-similar version of Tahini -- easily made by adding a couple of tablespoons of sesame seeds to your coffee grinder (or spice grinder) and blending until it's a powder (it doesn't grind every last seed, but does well enough.) It's the same thing, really, just in a slightly damp powder form. It's the molecular gastronomic version a Top Chef would sprinkle over some deconstructed dish.

If your local market doesn't stock Tahini, and you're not interested in grinding sesame seeds, then you can  substitute with a teaspoon of peanut butter (just don't tell your Middle Eastern dining guests!) Peanut butter has a similar taste, but it's much stronger than Tahini, so you want to use half the amount.  Or, for the easiest option of all, just use sesame oil.  The taste is milder, but it will suffice.

So pull up a chair and check out the 99 Cent Chef's latest recipe video, for Baba Ganoush. It's a fun, stop-motion animated delight of time-lapse deflating eggplants -- full of icky, gooey, veggie innards that blends into a smooth delicious dip.

  Baba Ganoush - Video
 
Play it here. Video runs 3 minutes, 3 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

• 4 Japanese eggplants - or, 2 regular eggplants. (I got about 1 1/2 cups cooked flesh.)
• 2 tablespoons Tahini - You can make your own by adding 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds to a coffee grinder, and pulverize. Or, just blend in a 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, instead of olive oil. You could even substitute Tahini with a teaspoon of peanut butter.
• 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic - fresh, or from jar.
• 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice - Fresh or from container. In the video I used lime juice.
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil - 2 for blending, and 1 more for drizzling on Baba Ganoush before serving.
• Handful of parsley - or tablespoon of dried. Save a chopped sprig for presentation. Optional.
• 1 teaspoon of paprika - optional.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Slice into one side of the eggplant, or poke it all over with a fork -- you need to do this, or the eggplant may explode into a mess in your oven.

Cover eggplant in a casserole dish, or place in a large pan (or cookie sheet) and cover with foil. I used Japanese eggplant so this was easy to do -  however if you are using a more typical large eggplant, poke it, then just wrap it in foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

When eggplant is done, unwrap it and allow to cool for 10 minutes. It will continue to seam and soften in its skin. After it is cool enough to handle, split it open and spoon out the soft flesh into a bowl or plate. Toward the tapering stem, the meat may be stringy, but still usable -- it will mash and blend fine. 

Finally, mix all the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and season with a dash of salt and pepper. Pulse and blend until it is a smooth mass, similar to hummus or cooked grits. You could also just mash it all together with a fork, until the texture is like oatmeal.

The flavors deepen and intensify if you let the Baba Ganoush sit covered in the refrigerator for a couple of hours; then set it out until it reaches room temperature.

To serve, just spoon it into a serving bowl and sprinkle on some chopped parsley (optional) and finish with a light drizzle of olive oil. I like to cut up a pita into triangles, for easy scooping. For the carb-wary, substitute with some sliced veggie sticks like carrots, celery, broccoli, or any favorite crunchy veggie. It's fine to just plop some on the plate and use it like a sweet gravy.

Hindsight
As mentioned earlier, peanut butter is a convenient substitution -- just be sure to use half the amount asked for with Tahini. The next time I make it, I will try a version without the powdered paprika, or use even less. Usually when I get Baba Ganoush at a Persian or Israeli restaurant, they drizzle on olive oil, but you don't have to do this -- to keep things low calorie.
 I got a cup and a half of cooked flesh from the eggplant. Your amount may vary, but don't worry if you have less or more, just roll with it. Baba Ganoush is versatile enough to play around with adding and subtracting the ingredients -- that's what this chintzy chef does all the time, play in the kitchen!