Healthy Alternatives – Babaghanoush (Eggplant Hummus)
Babaghanoush (Eggplant Hummus)
It’s the season of garden vegetables! We’ve been loaded with so many amazing locally grown vegetables, and have been busy canning as much as possible! Cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, and now okra and eggplant are just coming on!
Have you ever eaten an eggplant? It’s loaded with nutrition and fiber and very low in calories! Here’s a fun and easy way to make it into an amazing Middle Eastern dip called: Babaghanoush (Pronounced Ba-ba-ga-noosh). You won’t even know it’s eggplant!
Babaghanoush
(Eggplant Hummus)
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1/4 c. sesame tahini*
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 t. salt, to taste
1 1/2 T. olive oil, optional
PREHEAT oven to 400F
WASH eggplant, and prick sides of eggplant with fork.
BAKE whole eggplant on cookie sheet for 40 minutes or until soft.
COOL for a few minutes until you can touch it.
PEEL colored skin off eggplant and place in a blender or food processor.
ADD sesame tahini*, lemon juice, and salt to blender and blend until very smooth.
ADD olive oil and gently stir with a spatula.
POUR into container and chill for several hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.
SERVE with pita pockets, or as a veggie dip, or with chips.
KEEPS one week in refrigerator.
*Sesame Tahini is like a nut butter, but it’s made from sesame seeds. It is available at most grocery stores, and we carry it here at Kristina’s Kitchen.
Enjoy our recipes? Come to our free cooking classes at Kristina’s Kitchen, here in Whitley City next to the courthouse! 3rd Tuesday of each month, at 6:00pm. We serve a free meal with each class, so come hungry and bring a friend! Next class is this Tuesday, July 21 at 6:00pm
