Fire-Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic & Lemon Hoummous

Hoummous is a quick, easy, healthy and inexpensive snack, spread or dip. Though it's pretty easy to find in any well-stocked market, it's one of those things that I have almost always found tastes better when freshly-made and customized with your favorite ingredients. Just get out your blender or food processor and start creating, as hoummous requires little planning and only one "special" ingredient that you may not find everywhere: tahini*, or sesame paste.

Though Middle Eastern hoummous is traditionally made with the bases of chickpeas and tahini, Mediterranean hoummous often contains, in addition to those ingredients, olive oil and lemon juice. Though tahini gives hoummous sufficient creaminess, I find that the addition of olive oil adds an element of richness and that the acidity of lemon juice balances nicely against the chickpea base, which can, if not properly combined with other ingredients, taste mealy. Rest assured that this will not be a concern if you follow this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained.

1/2-cup tahini

1 fire-roasted red pepper

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Handful cilantro

Olive oil, to taste. Here, I use a couple of tablespoons.

Salt, a few pinches

Cumin, a few pinches

Procedure:

(1) If you have a gas stove, set the burner to medium and place the red pepper directly over the flame. Turn every minute or two with a pair of tongs to char the skin on all sides. Once charred, rub off the charred skin with a paper towel and slice the pepper. If you don't have a gas stove, you can use the broiler to achieve the charring effect, or, if you wish to skip this step entirely, just substitute half of a small can of roasted red peppers.

(2) Rinse and drain chickpeas.

(3) Place chickpeas, tahini, roasted red pepper, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, olive oil, salt and cumin in blender or food processor and blend/process until desired consistency is achieved.

(4) Garnish with paprika, cumin, lemon zest or whole chickpeas and serve alongside pita bread for an instant snack.

*Tahini can be found in all Middle Eastern markets and also in most Greek, Indian and Italian markets. Many supermarkets carry it, as well.

Baba Ghanoush

For a long time, I tried so hard to love eggplant. It's just that with all the mediocre-to-bad eggplant parmesan I had eaten over the years, I felt my quest to be converted was destined to fail. I may have had a decent caponata once, but just wasn't convinced. But then, one day in late 2007, soon after moving to New York, I went on a limb and ordered "fire roasted eggplant dip" at a hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern place in Brooklyn at 2:00 in the morning. It had a tangy, smokey and complex flavor that was nothing like the slimy, bitter eggplant I had tasted in the past. The dish's Arabic name was baba ghanoush, and it made me an eggplant convert. Akin to fashion, this dish is a testament to how essential it is to prepare ingredients in ways that are flattering to their textures and flavor profiles. And yes, I'm thinking of you, too, brussels sprouts!

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz's Living the Sweet Life in Paris blog, and made just a few small modifications.

Ingredients:
Two large eggplants (also known as aubergines)
1/2-cup tahini*
Three cloves garlic
Juice of two lemons
Depending on how thick you want the dip to be, either 1 or 1-1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, to taste
Teaspoon smoked paprika
Cilantro or parsley, a handful to be incorporated into the dip and more to garnish it
Olives, for garnish

*Tahini is a ground sesame paste that can be found in Middle Eastern markets and in many supermarkets. It's an ingredient in hummus as well.

Procedure:
(1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
(2) If you have a gas stove, char each eggplant, one per burner, directly over the open flame and turn it every minute or so until all sides are slightly charred. This should take about 5 minutes and will impart a slightly smokey flavor on the eggplant's inner flesh. For a more aggressive smokey flavor, char for 10 minutes. If you have an electric stove, use the broiler to achieve the same char effect.
(2) Put the eggplants on a tray and let bake for 30 minutes. When eggplants are ready, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly to make it easier for you to handle the flesh,.
(3) When eggplants have cooled slightly, scoop out all of the flesh.
(4) Using a blender or food processor, combine the eggplant flesh with the tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro or parsley, smoked paprika, and salt.
(5) Garnish with olives and remaining cilantro or parsley, and serve with pita bread or cucumber slices for dipping.