Baba Ganoush

My mom makes the best Baba Ganoush (and hummus) in the world and I don't think she ever uses a recipe. She just blends adding more lemon, oil, or tehina until it taste right. I tried to write down a reicpe close to hers, but feel free to play around and find your own.

Baba Ganoush
Make about 1 cup
1 eggplant
1 clove of garlic
1 lemon
1 tsp tehina
1-2 tbs olive oil
salt, pepper, hot pepper

Roast the eggplant in a hot oven for about 45min. Just stick in while your baking something else. Or wrap the eggplant in foil and pop on the bbq, its done when its looks like a ballon ready to pop. Let the eggplant cool and peel.

Blend the eggplant, with the garlic, tehina and the jucie of half a lemon. Taste and add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper as needed. I also like to add hot pepper, lemon zest and fresh herbs.

Enjoy as a dip or sandwich spread.

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

This delicious Smoked Mackerel Pâté was made by our friend for Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it. I think its a great recipe for any holiday. Rich, creamy goes well with pita bread, chips or even raw veg!

Recipe by Shawn McCourt and adapted from a recipe in

Small Food: snack sized bites to share with friends. Murdoch Books Ltd. Sydney.

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

Makes 1 ½-2cups

Ingredients:

1 whole smoked mackerel, or 4 boneless smoked fillets [can also use whitefish, eel salmon, trout or other hot smoked fish*] or around 800 grams

2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 to 1 whole package (200-250g) of Philadelphia cream cheese

Approx. 200g or ¼ cup of melted butter

Black pepper

Spring of fresh parsley and lemon slices, to garnish

Preparation:

Remove all skin, head and bones from the smoked fish and put in a food processor with the cream cheese, butter and lemon juice. Blend until mixture is quite smooth. Season to taste with cracked black pepper. Add more lemon juice if necessary. Can either serve immediately (as we did) or refrigerate overnight until firm. Garnish with parsley sprig and thinly sliced lemon. Serve with toasted bread, pita or crackers.

* Use only hot smoked fish, not cold smoked, as the cold smoked kinds have a ‘raw’ consistency and will not produce a desirable pâté.. I like the mackerel, but any other oily fish such as kippers, eel or whitefish would work. If you use salmon or trout, you may need to add more cream cheese and/or butter to produce the desired effect as there is less oil in these.