Eggplant and Hummus Pita Crisps Recipe
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The hummus and eggplant caviar can be made up to 2 days in advance, or for a slacker solution you can substitute a good-quality store-bought hummus. Stephen Gibbs told us, “If you simmer canned chickpeas in water or chicken stock for 5 minutes, they will break down faster for a more creamy, fluffy texture. An Israeli chef taught me to put half of a boiled russet potato in the mix for supercreamy hummus.”
Game plan: For the pita crisps, you can substitute lavash crackers.
This recipe was featured as part of our Killer Apps story.
- 4 medium pitas, cut into wedges and toasted
For the hummus:
- 2 cups canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 2/3 cup tahini
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
For the eggplant caviar:
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons capers, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
- In a food processor, purée the chickpeas, tahini, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice, paprika, and garlic until smooth, adding more olive oil if the mixture seems too thick. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
For the eggplant caviar:
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Prick the eggplant with a fork on all sides to allow steam to escape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 35 minutes or until it is soft and collapsed.
- Scrape the eggplant flesh out with your fingers or a fork, discarding the skin. Coarsely chop the flesh and place in a mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix until creamy. Add additional vinegar and lemon juice if you prefer more acidity.
- To serve, take a toasted pita wedge and top with a teaspoon of hummus and then a teaspoon of eggplant caviar.
Note: The hummus and eggplant caviar can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Toast the pita and assemble just before serving.
Beverage pairing: Falanghina Dei Feudi di San Gregorio, Italy. This wine comes from the dry south of Italy, where the Falanghina grape has evolved to produce rich, medium-bodied wines with a beautiful balance of savory and sweet, accented by some pepper and spice. These flavors should pair well with the hummus, and the creamy textures of both should make a nice match.
Looks good but why is the term caviar used for the eggplant.
Just made the eggplant caviar for lunch - delicious!
Re sondrac's comment: Removing the skins is most definitely worth it, and doesn't have to be time consuming. The way I do it is by putting the chickpeas in a large bowl, covering them with a good quantity of water, and massaging them with the palm of my hand (yes, I know there's a double-entendre there; no need to snigger). The skins come off and float to the top; you then pour the water off and the skins go with it. Four or five iterations of this will remove almost all the skins; this takes around two minutes.
That's not baba. It's not even that close. LOL @ the uproar.
You can leave the capers out - or substitute tomatoes, kalamata or green olives or fresh/roasted red peppers.
A Lebanese woman suggested removing the skins from canned chickpeas to create a fluffier texture in your hummus. This is time consuming, but definitely worth it. Ultimately, she advised, the best hummus is made from home-cooked chickpeas. After soaking the chickpeas, she will cook up a large batch in a crock pot and freeze in portioned bags. The frozen, cooked chickpeas will keep for months this way. The airy texture and fresh taste of her hummus attests to this method.
"In Russia, the dish is known as "eggplant caviar," and some versions add chopped tomatoes to the basic recipe." -- Wikipedia
This sounds delish! I love hummus, I think I'll buy an eggplant and try this out tonight.
Looks delicious. I will try it this week...Although the eggplant may not be baba ghannouj, I agree that the name is misleading. It led me astray as I was hoping to see some delightful fish roe in this recipe!
Would this combination of middle eastern and caviar even work?
For capers, olives, and other assorted items that you don't care for, it is always wiser to drop them from the recipe rather than attempt a poor substitution.
i'm not a fan of capers - any ideas for substituting capers? or can they just be left out...
ralsarra -
With all due respect, the eggplant portion of this recipe is not, in fact, baba ghannouj. So I don't see a reason why they would call it that.
But I appreciate your passion, as misplaced as it was.
It's annoying that you can't email stories/recipes.
YUM!!
What's wrong with the name baba ghannouj? Too lazy to pronounce it? Why not rename the hummus too?