Eggplant Caviar or Julie's variation on this Alice Waters recipe

This recipe was on the same page as the Olive Oil Rosemary cake recipe I wrote about two years ago. Always on the look out for new recipes which meet my dietary needs of no dairy, low sugar and looking for new ways to cook eggplant, I added this one to the list of recipes to try. I made this recipe for the first and second times in 2016 when eggplant was in season and for the third time in 2017, once again, when eggplant was in season.

I cannot tell how the leftovers of this taste as it's usually gone by the time it cools to room temperature as it's that popular in my house. I can tell you I'm looking forward to this year's crop of eggplant, garlic, onions/shallots to make this recipe again and maybe have some leftovers.

This is a variation of the recipe as it appeared in the September 2010 issue of Yoga Journal,--a reprint from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters. This version includes measured amounts for eggplant, salt, pepper, olive oil and shallots, substitutions for garlic cloves and shallots and a trick on how to easily clean the baking dish used to roast the eggplant.

1 large globe eggplant or 4 cups diced eggplant, peeled
¼ teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil, plus more to taste
1 ½ tablespoon water
2 shallots or ¼ cup diced shallot or ½ cup diced onion
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar, plus more to tase
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
(optional) ¼ cup fresh parsley or cilantro (chopped)

1. Place oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Spray 1 quart covered baking dish or 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2.  Peel eggplant and cut into cubes, approximately 1-inch in size. Place cubed eggplant into baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and toss with 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with water, cover with either baking dish cover or with aluminum foil. Bake until eggplant is very soft and can be easily mashed with a fork, about 30 – 40 minutes.
3. While eggplant is baking, peel and dice shallot/onion. Place in medium to large heat resistant bowl. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and soak for 10 minutes. Peel and mash garlic if using garlic clove and add garlic to shallot/onion mixture.
4. Add cooked eggplant to shallot/onion mixture, mash well with fork and cool to room temperature. Stir in parsley or cilantro, and add olive oil and vinegar to taste. 

Eggplant Caviar on a cracker

ready to eat

Chunky style hummus

When I was a child, beans were not something I would voluntarily eat. “Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you ….” You get it.

As an adult I eat beans voluntarily on a regular basis and have posted three bean-related recipes on this blog: Winter Fruit Salad, Black Bean Sloppy Joe and White Bean and Sausage Salad. I can trace back this change in attitude toward beans to the first time I tried hummus. Learning that hummus had approximately the same nutritional value with half the calories of peanut butter was my motivation. Loving peanut butter but not the calories, I was open to trying something new.

I found I really liked hummus. Eating it so frequently I chose to find a recipe where I could make hummus on my own whenever I pleased. Having replaced my cans of chickpeas with dried chickpeas as the latter takes up less cabinet space which makes room for my homemade applesauce, I've recently found every endeavor to make homemade hummus ends at the cooking of the chickpeas as I tend to snack on them, toss in salads or add them along with either rice or pasta to a dish of oven roasted squash or eggplant.

• 1 cup dried chickpeas soaked and cooked OR 1-19 ounce can chickpeas (both yield 2 cups chickpeas)
• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, mashed or 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• Water from chickpea can or water from pot used to cook chickpeas

If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse beans, reserving water in a separate container.

If using dried chickpeas, soak and cook beans according to package, reserving water in pot used to cook chickpeas.

In a large bowl, mash chickpeas with a potato masher, fork or beater of a hand mixer. Add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic. Using either fork or hand mixer on low to medium speed, mix until blended. If consistency appears too coarse, stir in small amounts of water from chickpeas to make smooth.

Serve. Store unused portion in air tight container in refrigerator.