Hummus + Baba Ganoush

Well, I got on this weird kick where I love Mediterranean food. Inspired mainly by this sweet restaurant. So...I said to myself, I can make this yummy nectar of life known as hummus and baba ganoush.

So...I embarked on an afternoon of cooking and baking (I decided to make the bread as well). The hummus turned out pretty well IMHO. The bread was...edible. But, we are able to share with our friends at the wonderful silent movie at Discovery Green. It seemed like it went over pretty well. I'm posting the recipe here (sans the pita bread)...

Tahini - 1 cup sesame seeds, a little EVOO. Roast seeds @ 340 in oven, do not brown. Put in food processor. Add oil as needed to make a paste. I should also add that if you plan on venturing into the world of falafel, you might want to consider an oil that is more stable at high heat than olive oil (aka veg oil).

Hummus - 16 oz chick peas, strained. 1/4 cup chick pea water. 2-3 cloves of garlic. 1.5 tsp tahini. Olive Oil. Fresh lemon juice. Salt. Put in food processor and hit go. Blend until it looks like hummus. Tweak ingredients to suit your taste. For spicy variation, I added cayenne pepper and a couple of thai chilies.

Baba Ganoush - Roast eggplant @ 400 degrees for 30-40 mins (make sure to poke holes with a fork). After roasting, place eggplant in cold water. Skin and put in food processor. With eggplant, add 1/4 cup tahini (I had less than that), lemon juice, a couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil, pepper and salt. Hit go on the food processor.

The great thing about all these recipes are you can just chop, taste and refine. Really easy. Also, you can get as creative as you want with other things to add to your hummus (we're open to suggestions, we have a lot of chick peas left over). And Anne's idea about using it as a spread on sandwiches, excellent.

I estimate a 2 cup batch of hummus cost just over $1. We bought the huge can of chick peas, so we saved a lot of money there. Just a note for the cost conscience.

Me and the tahini

Baba Ganoush prior to processing!

Rolling out the pita bread dough

Hummus in finished state

Dough after rising

Me and spicy hummus

Done pitas (I have a few ideas to improve)