Advent-urous Artists Day 6

This evening I modelled for the regular life class I attend at Savage Studios and even though the heating was on my extremeties were a tad on the cold side!  My feet, people, my feet!  lol  As I sat there, with my toes slowly turning a delicate shade of blue, the conversation turned to food.  I love talking about food, some of you may know that I also have a (currently woefully neglected!) foodie blog and I do love to bake and try out new flavours and share my modest culinary adventures.  ;o)  Tonight we covered making real gravy, good roast potatoes, mincemeat and some less than favourable and memorable for the wrong reasons meals of the past!  I also got to thinking about one of my favourite new recipes from this summer ~ Baba Ghanoush.  I discovered a new passion for all things aubergine and this became one of my regular makes.  For those of you who are so inclined, the recipe is below.  It's warmed me up thinking of the warm summer days I spent eating Baba Ghanoush for lunch out in the garden.  ;o)



Check out what Rob and Ric are blogging about today too!  ;o)

Baba Ghanoush (smoked aubergine dip)


This creamy dip can be served as part of a selection of little dishes or a simple appetizer/starter. Normally the dish is made from vegetables that have been roasted whole and the flesh scooped out. In this version, they are peeled, then sliced and roasted, so the result is much more mellow.

2lbs aubergine
about 2/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp tahini
freshly squeezed juice of 1 – 2 lemons or to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
1 tbsp sweet paprika
3 tbsp oilve oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
toasted pitta bread or other flatbread, to serve

Serves 4 - 6

Preheat over to 200C/Gas mark 6

Trim the aubergines, peel then slice thickly. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until browning and soft, turning them once.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.Transfer to a food processor and add the garlic, tahini and the juice of 1 lemon. Process until creamy, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and more lemon juice.

Pour or spoon into a shallow dish. Mix the paprika with the 3 tbsp olive oil and trickle it over the top of the baba ghanoush. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with strips of toasted pitta bread for dipping.

Note: For a softer garlic flavour, roast the garlic cloves whole and unpeeled with the aubergines then squeeze the soft flesh out of the skins and blend with aubergines.