Cooking along

Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush is an eggplant-tahini dip. It's often accompanied with hommus. It's great just with some pita bread or pita chips, as well as with fresh carrots, celery sticks and cucumber sticks. I like to use the long and thin Japanese eggplants, they have less seeds than the regular ones. You can add a nice extra flavor if you cook the eggplants in the grill, but it works very well in the oven. Some recipes call for using a food processor, but It think is better by hand. In the food processor the seeds will get liquefied and there will be a slightly bitter flavor. This recipe makes enough for a party!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 eggplants, depending on the size
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seeds paste)
• juice of 1 lemon, or more to taste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (optional, depending on your taste...and your date!)
• salt to taste
• a little water, depending on the consistency
• Garnish: paprika, olive oil and some parsley leaves. If  pomegranate is in season, is very typical to garnish with pomegranate seeds instead of the paprika.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Roast the eggplants for about 30-45 minutes or until tender, pinching them first with a knife or fork to stop them from bursting. You can also roast them in a grill for 30 minutes to give a nice smoky flavor. Let them cool and peel them, discarding the skin and the stalks. Put the eggplants on a colander to drain for about 15 minutes. Put the eggplants on a bowl and mashed them with a fork. When the eggplants are mashed stir in the tahini, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt to taste, this will change the color to a very light one. Add some water if it's too thick. Spread in a serving dish garnishing with olive oil, some parsley and paprika. Or pomegranate seed if you have them.

Mushrooms Crostini

Crostini are thin slices of crusty bread, usually brushed with olive oil and covered with different toppings. In this version I use Trumpet Royale mushrooms, but you can substitute for Cremini or any kind of wild mushrooms you have available. I came out with this Crostini recipe with my mom in my mind: she loves mushrooms, cream and toast! They're great appetizers and very easy to make.

Ingredients

• 6-8 slices of Crusty bread, like Italian or French Baguette, about 1/2 inch wide
• olive oil for brushing
• 1 Garlic clove, crushed
• 3 shallots, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound Trumpet Royale or Cremini mushrooms , sliced
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°. Brush the bread slices with a little olive oil and bake until crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cook the garlic and shallots in the butter and oil at a medium heat until translucent, add the mushrooms and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated. Mix in the cream, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and cook for 3 more minutes or until the cream thickens. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the Crostini and top them with the parmesan cheese. Broil for a couple of minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. A green salad works perfect with them.

Ripe Plantain "Tequeños"

"Tequeños" are cheese sticks covered by flaky dough and then fried, they are the most popular appetizer in all Venezuelan parties. Last week my friend Liliana's mom, Adelaida Rivero, left this original Tequeño recipe in the blog, she uses ripe plantain puree instead of the flaky dough. This recipe was given to Adelaida by her mother Ana, who used to say that it was developed during Colonial times in Venezuela and that her family is been making it since the 19th century. Ana was a great cook, she used to have a Restaurant in Venezuela and, Adelaida says proudly, thanks to her mother's work she and her siblings where able to attend and graduate from College. What a great example of hard work Adelaida!

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe plantains, peeled
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut approx in 2x0.5x0.5 inch sticks
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• oil for frying

Preheat the oven to 350°. Wrap the peeled plantains in foil and bake them for 40 minutes or until soft. Cut the plantains longitudinally through the middle and remove the seeds. Mash them with a potato masher and  mix with the salt and cream. Take a small amount of puree, about 2 tablespoons, and flatten in your hand forming a disc. Arrange the mozzarella stick in the center and cover completely with the puree. Cover with the bread crumbs and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Thank you Adelaida for this great recipe!

Guacamole

Guacamole is a very versatile dip. You can do many variations and always, well almost always, comes out delicious. In this version I like to add a little bit of red bell pepper for an extra crunch, but you can omit the peppers if you like the more traditional and smooth one. Enjoy with tortilla chips or, the way I like it, in sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 jalapeno finely diced, seeds removed (optional)
• juice of 1/2 lime, about 1 tablespoon
• 2 teaspoons corn oil
• 1 hass avocado
• salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl mix the onion, tomato, red bell pepper, optional jalapeno (depending on how hot you like it, you can omit the jalapeno or increase the quantity to taste), lime juice and oil, mix well. Mash the avocado with a fork and add immediately to the onion mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. Is better to eat it right away, but if you need to keep it for a couple of hours in the fridge you can cover with plastic, letting the plastic touch the guacamole, and after cover with aluminum foil. The plastic avoids contact with air, and the foil avoids contact with light. This way you will slow down the oxidizing prosess that makes the avocado change color to brown.

Carlos' Eggplants

Ok Carlos, here you go a crispy and crunchy idea to make eggplants. Jose really like it drizzle with lemon juice.

Ingredients:

• 1 Eggplant
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• flour for dusting
• 1 to 2 cups bread crumbs,depending on the size of the eggplant. I really like the Japanese panko style bread crumbs
• oil for frying

Cut the eggplant in round slices, arrange them in a container and add the soy sauce, cumin, salt and pepper over them. Let them marinate for a few minutes. Heat the oil. Cover the eggplant slices first in the flour, then in the egg and finally cover them with the bread crumbs. Fry them until golden brown. Eat them immediately, you can drizzle a little lemon juice if you like. Carlos, buen provecho!

Fried tofu

This is a simple way to prepare tofu and make your kids actually like it!. I like the finished tofu with soy sauce, scallions and a little ginger, but some kids don't like the strong flavor of fresh ginger so is up to you and your dinners.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz firm tofu
• corn starch for dusting
• soy sauce
• 5 scallions, green and white parts chopped
• 2 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger, optional
• canola oil for frying

Dry the tofu very well, using several paper towels. Heat the canola oil. Cut the tofu into 2 by 2 slices, 1 inches thick and dry them again. Cover with corn starch and fry in the oil for a couple of minutes on each side until lightly brown. Arrange in a platter with the scallions and optional ginger, and drizzle the soy sauce on top.

Avocado Dip

This Dip is great with chips, but I really like it over sandwiches or veggie burgers.

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados, peeled and pitted
• juice of 1 lime
• 4 scallions (mainly white part), chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro or coriander leaves
• 1/2 green chile (optional), like serrano or jalapeño, seeds removed 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup regular or Latin American sour cream
• salt and white pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in the food processor. Blend until creamy, adjust seasonings. Keep it in the refrigerator and serve in the next hour or so, or it will oxidize and change color. Great with vegetables!. If you need to store it a little longer, you can drizzle the top with a little lime juice and cover the container. My mom says that if you store it with the pit inside it will keep longer. Try it, you'll never know.

Hommus

This is my daughter's favorite, she loves this dip with crunchy pita chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 can organic garbanzo beans (about 15oz), drained and washed
• 1/3 cup tahini
• juice of 1/2 lime or lemon (I like the lime flavor)
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon water
• salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt)
• sweet paprika and olive oil to garnish

In a food processor mix all the ingredients (except the paprika) and process until a smooth paste, adjust the salt or add more water if needed to achieve the right consistency. Serve in a plate drizzle with olive oil and sprinkled with sweet paprika. You can serve it with pita wedges, pita chips or fresh vegetables.