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Home > posts > 2014 > 05 > 20140518_224710_baba-ganoush-appetizer-and-shakshuka-with-fried-eggs-or-hard-boiled-eggs.html

Baba Ganoush (appetizer) and Shakshuka (with fried eggs or hard-boiled eggs)

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Baba Ganoush:

Meredith made baba Ganoush using the recipe at the very bottom. She basically followed it except she skipped burning the eggplant and just roasted it (cut in half, flesh side down). She also added some cumin (surprise) and sumac. Finally, this time she used less tahini (scant 1/4 cup) and added some sesame seeds to make up for it. On the note of tahini, she says that she has experimented and found that you_can_ go as low as a 1/4 of a cup but do not go lower as it looses the needed creaminess.

Shakshuka

We made the shakshuka using a lot of leftover veggies as well as some new ones. I do not remember all of the details, but as I recall, the base was

• 2 medium onions
• lots of mini sweet bell peppers
• a few stalks of celery
• one large carrot
• 2 crowns broccoli
• 4 or so cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 x 28 + 1 x 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

We did it in the cast-iron dutch oven (which I think tends to make things cook really well and results in richer flavors). We started by sautéing the onions in a bit of canola oil. As they cooked I added the rest of the veggies and sautéd for a while. I separately sautéd the garlic in a bit on canola and then combined everything with the tomatoes.

For seasonings, I used the following. I started with measures and then I eventually just added more as I went.

• Smoked Paprika (1 Tbsp)
• Oregano, further ground between fingers as I added (1 Tbsp)
• cumin (heaping tsp)
• garlic powder
• chipotle powder
• hot paprika crushed red pepper
• salt

I let it simmer (between setting 2 and 3 on the induction) for probably a good 30-40 minutes.

Eggs:

I have never been happy with eggs poached in the shakshuka (especially the next day). So we topped them at night with fried eggs (with yolks barely set).

For lunch, I hard-"boiled" some eggs. After having trouble peeling them last time, I followed The Food Lab's (newest version) ideas about starting with hot water or steam. The idea is that there is no fool-proof way but starting with the cooking liquid hot tends to do better.

I chose the steamed version which says to heat water on high. Once at a rolling boil, steam eggs for 6 minutes for soft, 12 minutes for hard). If cooling, chill in ice bath immediately (reduced the air-pocket area).

I followed this (except I misread it as 11 minutes). The eggs came off the shell very nicely and the yolks were well set (1 more minute could have been better but not noticeable). This will be my go-to method in the future. And, it is faster to bring water to a boil for steaming than to do the whole pot!

Baba Ganoush (from David Lebovitz)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7839, 2014-05-18_224710