Baba Ganoush and Mouhamara Recipes

Two Appetizing Dips for your Christmas or Holiday Party

© Debbie Kwiatoski

Dec 16, 2007

Jazz up your Christmas party or holiday cocktail hour with classic Middle Eastern dips - or just serve a mixed platter of them with a salad, hearty soup, and plenty of pita bread triangles for a simple supper on a hurried night that needs to slow down for a bit.. All three are even vegetarian. Hummus, a chickpea, garlic, and Tahne is perhaps the best known of the three. Baba Ganoush is eggplant-based and fairly similar to hummus in many way – but the real dazzler is a Lebanese dip called Mouhamara. It’s main ingredients are roasted sweet red peppers, walnuts and bread crumbs, for body.

Baba Ganoush

There's a Persian legend that this classic eggplant dip got its name because, very loosely translated, its name means "the Iman wept." The story goes on to say that no one really knows if he was weeping because of the dish's exquisite taste - or because of the cost of the olive oil used to make it! Baba Ganoush does, indeed, have a rich, exotic taste.

The eggplants used to make it come in many shapes, sizes - and even colors - today and, depending upon where you live and what's available in the market (or from your garden) they can be small or large is size; purple, green or even white in color. But In Middle Eastern cooking, the type most often used for Baba Ganoush are the basic purple variety.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, roasted whole (see below)
• About 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil - more or less to taste.
• 2-3 large garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup of lemon juice - more or less to taste
• ¼ - 1/3 cup of cold water
• To garnish:
• About 2 - 3 teaspoons of chaimen
• Some chopped, fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. Peel the skin off the roasted eggplant and put the pulp into a blender or food processor to puree.
2. Add the olive oil - the resulting mixture should be creamy and rich - but not too oily.
3. Add the lemon juice and about ½ of the cold water and blend until the mixture is very smooth, adding the rest of the water slowly until you have a creamy - but not too liquidy consistency.
4. Taste, and adjust for tartness - some people prefer their hummus more tart, some less.
5. Spread the mixture on a pie plate or other shallow serving platter.
6. Taking the Chaimen in pinches, create a "criss-cross" pattern with it on top of the hummus.
7. Garnish with the parsley.

Serve as a dip, with Pita bread cut into small triangles.

Mouhamara

This is one of the most exotic and unique dips coming out the great Meze tradition of dips, served with pita or sliced rounds of cucumber or carrot. The ingredients might sound like they don’t really “go together,” – but try it. You will be amazed at how well the disparate flavors actually blend to create a wonderful dip. To serve for the Holidays or on a cocktail table, serve as a trio with Hummus and Baba Ganoush.

Ingredients

• 1 Large or 2 Medium Roasted Sweet Red Peppers (Can be purchased ready-made today, canned in the specialty foods section of a supermarket or at an Italian Deli)
• 2 Cups Chopped Walnuts, Almonds or Pine Nuts – or a combination of the three
• 1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs, ground fine
• ½ to 2/3 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons of finely minced onions
• 1 Tablespoon of Grenadine syrup (or Pomegranate Molasses, if you have access to it)
• 1 ½ Teaspoons Chaimen
• ¼ Teaspoon Sugar

Method:

1. Put all the above ingredients into a food processor and “pulse” the mixture, until everything is well-integrated and finely minced – but not pureed. You want the mixture to have a coarse texture.
2. Spread onto a shallow pie plate or serving bowl. Sprinkle lightly with a bit more olive oil and garnish – of desired with chopped parsley and whole pine nuts.
3. Let sit, chilled, for about one hour to allow time for the ingredients to meld together.
4. Serve with pita triangles and slices of cucumber

Makes about 2 cups of dip

Baba Ganoush

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