Baba Ghanoush/Hummus

Every week after eating Nacho French Bread Pizzas, we are left with half a loaf of french bread to deal with.  Sometimes we make French toast, but it's a little too sweet to eat every week, so lately we have been on a dip making kick.  Last week I adapted a Rachael Ray recipe for a Baba Ghanoush/Hummus Pasta sauce into a dip.

Brett and I are big fans of hummus (now that I've bought a big jar of tahini we'll probably attempt to make hummus next) and we have had baba ghanoush before in Greek restaurants and have generally liked it.  Baba Ghanoush is made from eggplant and has lemony undertones.

First I chopped the eggplant and garlic and sauteed that with chick peas seasoned with coriander, cumin, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  I let it cook until the eggplant was soft (and thoroughly stuck to my pan.)  Lemon zest went in at the very end.

Then it went into the food processor with a couple of tablespoons of tahini (roasted sesame paste) and a couple splashes of vegetable stock until it was a good dipping consistency.

It was not the best dip I've ever had, and despite all of the spices that went in, it tasted a little bland (or tan as Brett likes to call it.)  The dip did have a spicy hint to it from the red pepper flakes and we could just taste the lemon zest.  If there is a next time for this one, I think I will roast the eggplant first instead of just sauteeing, that way it will save my pan and give it some extra flavor.