Baba Ganoush, or as we call it out with this version, Bubba Can-Nooch. Half the fun is making up names. Prepared in wicked fashion, deconstructed and not blended for the chew factor alone. Delicious and filling!
I don’t know about you but there’s only so much mushy, blended food, frozen berry topped smoothies and dessert items that we can handle and see a lot of that out there on the socials. Yeah they’re pretty, there’s no denying that. However, we’re looking to be inspired not smoothie-fied! Maybe we’re talking crazy pants, bonkers and totally going out on a limb here but, we really enjoy chewing very much. A wicked lot even!
Ingredients
for the guts
1-2 whole Japanese aubergine, the purple kind with edible skin
1 t vegetable oil
coarse salt and pepper
for the relish
½ t sesame oil
1 white onion, small dice
couple pinches of salt and pepper
¾ t cumin
1 red bell pepper, small dice
capful of apple cider vinegar
1 TB fresh mint, chopped
1 TB fresh cilantro, chopped
for the dressing
3 T tahini
3 T lemon, juiced
2 T sambal (garlic chili paste)
1 t sesame oil
to serve and garnish
Naan bread
Lettuce leaf or two
sliced red peppers – whatever kind you like
Instructions
Lightly rub aubergine with a thin layer of oil to coat, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
Smoke on a low, indirect burn for 10 minutes to infuse flavor.
To finish, grill or place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 -30 minutes until soft and cooked (do not over cook and make mushy).
Remove from heat and allow to cool before cutting.
To make the relish
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sesame oil and the diced onion, allowing it to slightly char, then add a little salt, pepper and the cumin, then stir to incorporate. Add diced red pepper and remove from heat. (We want the pepper to stay crunchy.)
Transfer everything to a small bowl, add a splash of vinegar and the chopped herbage.
To make the dressing
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk together to blend.
To serve
We steam the Naan or heat on hot skillet for a bout a minute on both sides before making the sandwich. This adds warmth and helps make the bread more pliable and pleasant. It adds that sense of professionalism in our opinion.
Add some lettuce and top with the aubergine, relish and dressing to build the ultimate sandwich. Fold and go!
If you don’t have a smoker or don’t have the time the aubergine can easily be baked in the oven—you won’t get the same smokey flavor, but it’ll still be wicked tasty.
Instead of blending this beautifully roasted Japanese aubergine (which is another way of saying eggplant for other parts of the world), we’re leaving it whole and still using all the same ingredients!
Fresh-caught, cherry wood smoked aubergine, onion and red pepper, cilantro-mint relish, spicy peppers, lemon-sambal tahini and some local mustard flowers stolen from the neighbors front yard to beautify what we’ll soon be digesting. This was perfect served on California Lavosh’s super soft Na’an bread.
Did you make this recipe?
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