Food For Thought - Baba Ganoush with Pomegranate
With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I should weigh in with some alternatives to the side dishes we all usually have at the table...
I make this dish during the autumn months when pomegranates are in season and it NEVER fails me. It’s the cold months and the holiday months and people want to eat things that are different and fun and festive and tasty… and a lot of the time that ends up being sweet potatoes soaked in butter and marshmallows or carrots drizzled with butter and brown sugar or lots of other things that, let’s face it, really are more than your body can handle.
This is just some fun and it’s different and kind of light.
And delish. (My friend, Laurelle, LOVES this dish).
Here’s the thing: I cannot make Baba Ganoush. I’ve not mastered it. Maybe one day I will but, today, I cannot (in good faith) tell you that I can make this wonderful dip made of eggplant and spices. I buy the YORGOS brand. It is made straight and (I believe) it is organic (though I don’t have a container of it in front of me, so I can’t be sworn on the witness stand). There are other companies that make it with mayonnaise, which is repulsive. Just either make it yourself (and you can find lots of recipes online through google) or buy Yorgos or another clean brand. Eggplant. Spices. That’s it.
You need a good size pomegranate (or two, if you are making a lot of this for a party) – and they are really easy to seed; it just takes time and patience. Cut the skin, peel it back, break off a piece and pull the seeds out, dropping them into a container. When you have lots of lovely pomegranate seeds, mix them in with your dip and serve it with some nice whole grain, multi grain pita (or whatever dipping bread you want to use). It’s just for special occasions and a little bit of bread now and then isn’t going to kill you.
It’s just a lot more tasty and a lot more healthy than a bag of Ruffles and some bean dip.
It’s sophisticated. Your friends will be impressed.
So will your taste buds.
I make this dish during the autumn months when pomegranates are in season and it NEVER fails me. It’s the cold months and the holiday months and people want to eat things that are different and fun and festive and tasty… and a lot of the time that ends up being sweet potatoes soaked in butter and marshmallows or carrots drizzled with butter and brown sugar or lots of other things that, let’s face it, really are more than your body can handle.
This is just some fun and it’s different and kind of light.
And delish. (My friend, Laurelle, LOVES this dish).
Here’s the thing: I cannot make Baba Ganoush. I’ve not mastered it. Maybe one day I will but, today, I cannot (in good faith) tell you that I can make this wonderful dip made of eggplant and spices. I buy the YORGOS brand. It is made straight and (I believe) it is organic (though I don’t have a container of it in front of me, so I can’t be sworn on the witness stand). There are other companies that make it with mayonnaise, which is repulsive. Just either make it yourself (and you can find lots of recipes online through google) or buy Yorgos or another clean brand. Eggplant. Spices. That’s it.
You need a good size pomegranate (or two, if you are making a lot of this for a party) – and they are really easy to seed; it just takes time and patience. Cut the skin, peel it back, break off a piece and pull the seeds out, dropping them into a container. When you have lots of lovely pomegranate seeds, mix them in with your dip and serve it with some nice whole grain, multi grain pita (or whatever dipping bread you want to use). It’s just for special occasions and a little bit of bread now and then isn’t going to kill you.
It’s just a lot more tasty and a lot more healthy than a bag of Ruffles and some bean dip.
It’s sophisticated. Your friends will be impressed.
So will your taste buds.
posted by StephenMosher at 2:14 PM
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