time for snacking.

I'm a hardcore snacker. I'll admit it. Nibbling between meals is something that I'm guilty of doing every time I'm doing something for a long time. Man, oh man . . . especially if I'm caught up watching a series or a movie! Back when I was younger, I'd gobble up candy, ice cream, and other junk food that I could get my hands on. Ah, junk food.

Nowadays, I try to get my snacking under control. If I do snack, I try to opt for a veggie-fruit smoothie or a fruit and cheese plate. Sometimes a granola bar or a fruit and veggie pop. Sometimes just a couple glasses of juice. Oh, I also looooove me some hummus! I'll oftentimes swap between pita chips or carrot sticks whenever I make a batch. If I felt like treating myself, I'd warm up some pita bread and just snack away a piece or two browsing the internet.

The problem with hummus, tho, is that sometimes I get bored of making it. Don't get me wrong, I'd pick hummus over a french onion dip anytime . . . but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for it. I like variety on my palate and that's when I try making different stuff to satisfy my fickle tongue.

Enter this baba ganoush recipe. I had saved this on my pinterest board but never really got around to trying it. Probably because I don't buy eggplant all that often . . . turns out, the hubby has an aversion to it. Blarg. I grew up eating eggplant. From breakfast, to condiments and sides, and just about every filipino dish I've ever come across. I love eggplant. So, if ever I can, I try to occasionally sneak eggplant into our dinner rotation.

But back to this dip.

Since I had some eggplant lying around from a couple of days ago, I thought I'd finally try my hand at making this dip. I like that it's largely hands-off and relatively easy to do. I was missing some ingredients in the dip, but I found that I liked how it turned out. I was stoked! I deviated slightly from the recipe by seasoning the eggplant with salt and garlic during the roasting process. I think that made this ten times tastier.

So here's a few things I learned along the way: I like my baba ganoush slightly chunky so it got blitzed just before it turned into a puree. Also, I found that I prefer this as a warm dip as apposed to having it cold or at room temperature. All in all, I thought this turned out mighty tasty. Now, I have one more recipe under my belt! Huzzah!

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Baba Ganoush
(adapted from The Mediterranean Dish)

1 large eggplant, cut in half
2 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp bottled minced garlic
2 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp sumac, additional for garnish
salt and pepper
toasted pine nuts, for garnish
chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

 
Preheat oven to 425F degrees.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, lightly coat with olive oil then sprinkle with some salt. Place eggplant flesh-side down then drizzle with olive oil. Cut a few slits into the skin. Open each slit and add garlic, evenly distributing between each opening. Transfer tray to the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven then let stand until cool enough to handle.

When cooled, scoop out the flesh and transfer to blender or food processor. Discard skins. Add lime juice, tahini, sumac, and a pinch of pepper. Blitz for a few seconds then adjust seasoning to taste. Blitz again until desired consistency is reached.

Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with olive and topped with pine nuts, parsley, and a generous sprinkle of sumac.

Makes roughly 1 cup.