Flatbread, Hummus & Baba Ghanoush

We were supposed to make pizza, but what we thought was yeast that we mixed in the dough, unfortunately was baking powder (blame Carrefour grocery staff).

But fortunately, instead of throwing the dough away, the guy had a brainwave and thought of making flat bread, hummus and baba ghanoush.

Honestly, baba ghanoush reminds me of some cartoon character. And hummus must be a type of truck, isn’t it?

It’s rated 8 out of 10 stars from the Royal British Standards. He is very pleased.

Looks lovely, doesn’t it?

Ingredients:

Dough

500g flour

375ml warm water

11g Baking powder

Salt and sugar

1. Sift the flour
2. Mix baking powder, salt and sugar in water
3. Slowly pour water in the flour and mix like play-doh into dough

Cooking the dough:

1. Pull a section from the dough, flatten with rolling pin.
2. Slather with little bit of olive oil, cook it on a dry pan for 2 minutes each side or until a bit brown
3. Sprinkle salt to taste
4. Cut into triangle pieces

Dough ball

Flatten and roll with rolling pin, don’t forget the flour so it won’t stick.

Sprinkle some olive oil on one side and cook for 2 minutes or until brown

Hummus

200g/7oz canned chickpeas

2 tbsp lemon juice or more

2 cloves garlic – crushed

100ml/3½fl oz tahini (sesame seed paste) – about 4 tbsp

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper

Chili pepper

1. Drain and wash the chickpeas. Leave a little bit of the juice.
2. Combine chickpeas (and juice), lemon juice, garlic, sesame seed paste, water in mixer; blend into a creamy purée.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour into a cup, smoothen and drizzle some olive oil and chili pepper.

Drain and soak chickpeas

Combine chickpeas, garlic, sesame paste and everything else. Blend until creamy. 

Pour a little bit of olive oil on top and sprinkle some chili pepper (or paprika).

Baba Ghanoush

3 eggplants aubergine

2 cloves garlic – crushed

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp sesame seed paste

3-4 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Pierce skins of eggplant, heat them up in oven for 40 mins or until skin blackens and chars. The charred, the better; we want that smoky taste.
2. Peel the eggplant, mix it in the food processor together with the rest of the ingredients and blend into puree.
3. Serve in cup trickled with olive oil.

Stab Poke eggplants with fork.

Heat eggplants in oven for 40 minutes or until it shrivels and blackens. More charred, the better. You can also grill them. 

It should look like this. Let it cool for a bit, then peel.

In the blender: eggplants, crushed garlic, olive oil, sesame seed paste, salt and pepper to taste. 

Blend until creamy.

Baba Ghanoush is a dip, not a cartoon character. 

Bonus recipe

Salad:

Cherry Tomatoes

Onions – chopped

Cucumber – sliced

Dressing:

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Thank you meze much.

Source recipes from BBC and The Guardian.

Note:

1. Sesame Paste can be bought at your local shop for RMB 5.00

2. Chickpeas available at Carrefour