Nose Bear

Baba Ganoush

A traditional Middle Eastern side dish, best served with some crusty bread as part of a selection of side’s; mezze.  I like it with a lot of garlic and salt in to really pack on the flavour.

• 1 aubergine
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp tahini paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• olive oil 
• parsley

Slice the aubergine in 2 lengthways and place face down in an oiled baking tray.  Bake at 170C for 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Scoop out the pulp and blend with the garlic, lemon juice, tahini and salt.  Drizzle the top with olive oil and parsley and serve.

Spicy Aubergine

Similar to the spicy mushrooms posted a while back these aubergines have a different texture and a richer sauce to counteract their natural bitterness.

• 450g aubergines
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2.5cm piece fresh root ginger, chopped
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 fresh red chilli, sliced
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 300ml vegetable stock

Cut the aubergine into bit sized pieces and place in a colander. Sprinkle with the salt and let it stand for 30 minutes. This allows some of the bitter juices to drain away. Rinse under cold water and pat dry.

Heat oil in a wok and stir fry the garlic, ginger, onion and fresh chilli for 30 seconds. Then add the aubergines and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn it up to a boil and heat until the sauce has thickened.

Sabich

Sabich is a popular street food in Israel. It consists of fried aubergine, boiled egg and other condiments in a pita bread. The Iraqi Jews were said to have brought it into Israel with them. It was originally eaten on Shabbat, when cooking is prohibited due to religious law, as a meal of pre-cooked aubergine, potato and eggs. It was then transferred into a pita and became a popular street food. 

• aubergine/eggplant
• white wine vinegar
• parsley
• LOTS of oil

Slice the aubergines into 1cm slices. Pour some oil into a pan and heat. Place the aubergine rings into the oil and fry till it begins to brown. Flip and repeat for the other side. You may need to add more oil as the aubergine acts like a sponge and soaks it up.

Once both sides are browned remove them from the pan and lightly squeeze between two fish slices to remove excess oil. This can either be added back to the pan for frying any remaining aubergine rings or saving for use in other dishes. The aubergine flavoured oil is great to impart a little bit of flavour to other food.

Cut the aubergine into bite sized pieces and place in a plastic container. Pour in some white wine vinegar to half cover the aubergine and then add a decent sprig of roughly chopped parsley.

Place in the fridge and leave to marinate overnight. Eat in a pita with any mix of olives, lettuce, sliced boiled egg, humus or chilli sauce.