My favourite go to appetizer or snack is either baba ganoush or my Indian eggplant bhartho which is also one of my shared recipes. Baba ganoush is a really healthy plant-based snack with it’s main ingredient, eggplant. It is full of flavour and a great source of vitamin B, vitamin E, and fibre. When I entertain and my theme is Mediterranean, you can bet that Baba ganoush will be at the centre of the table with hummus, olives, pita, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and red wine of course!!!

BABA GANOUSH

• Serves: 4-6

• Prep Time: 5 minutes

• Cooking Time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 dome eggplant

• 1 garlic clove minced to a paste or 1 tbsp of dried garlic minced

• 2 tbsp tahini

• 2 tbsp greek yogurt (or a non dairy yogurt)

• 1 tsp Himalayan salt

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 tsp sumac

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat stove to 350 degrees

Wash the eggplant and remove the leaves leaving the stem intact. Brush oil all over the eggplant then cut one slit 1 inch  deep from top to bottom and place on a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes and increase temperature to broil. Broil for 10 minutes and turn the eggplant to broil the other side for another 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the eggplant rest for about 8 minutes in the stove. Remove the eggplant and let cool till you can handle it.  Carefully remove the skin from where the slit was made and place the mushy eggplant in a bowl. Mash up the eggplant with a knife, fork or masher and add all the ingredients and mash till it looks like a yogurt dip ( I like it chunky).  Place in serving bowl and carve out a little circle in the middle for the olive oil to sit in. Drizzle the olive oil, sprinkle the sumac and put an olive in the centre and voila!! Serve with pita bread, olives, red peppers, carrots and cucumber sticks.