Mutabbal Food

MUTABBAL

Steps:

• First you need to roast the eggplant by placing it directly over the fire on your stove top. Roast it for about 15 minutes by turning it from side to side until it's black and the pulp is soft and tender.
• Once the eggplant is done, you need to peel off the skin, and then mash it using a fork or a potato masher.
• Add minced garlic, salt, and juice of a lemon, mix. Then add the Tahini sauce (which is made by mixing the tahini paste with cold water and lemon juice - unless you have used all of the juice in the previous step)
• When serving, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, and garnish with Summaq and parsley or crushed mint leaves. Serve warm or cold with pita or taboun bread.

MUTABBAL SILIK (CHARD-TAHINI DIP)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the tough ends of the chard stalks and reserve for another use. (It's okay for some stems to remain.)Rinse the chard and blanch it in boiling water for about 2 minutes or until tender. The leaves should pluck easily from the stalks but still hold together. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze well with your hands to remove excess water.
• Chop the chard and add it to a food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, and oil to make a smooth paste. Blend at medium speed until the leaves form small pesto-like flecks. Drizzle in the tahini and pulse until it's a uniform pale green color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste.
• When ready to serve, scoop the chard mixture onto a serving plate, drizzle it with the oil, and garnish with the sumac and Aleppo pepper.

BABA GANOUSH

Steps:

• Heat the grill to its highest setting. Put the aubergines on a baking sheet and grill for 35-40 mins or until completely softened, blackened and blistered, turning them halfway through with a pair of tongs. Set aside and leave to cool completely.
• Once your aubergines are cool enough to handle, gently peel off the charred skin and discard. Transfer the flesh to the large bowl of a food processor along with 30ml of the oil, the coriander, cumin, tahini, lemon and half the parsley. Season and pulse the flesh three or four times to create a chunky textured dip.
• Transfer the dip to a bowl and drizzle with the remaining oil, scatter over any leftover parsley and serve with warm flatbreads or pitta.

MUTABBAL SHAMANDAR (BEET-TAHINI DIP)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• In a medium bowl, coat the beets in the oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Tear four lengths of aluminum foil and tightly wrap each beet individually in the foil. Roast the beets in the oven for about 1 hour, until caramelized and tender (a knife or cake tester should go through them with little or no resistance). Remove the beets from the oven and cool in the foil.
• For this next step, I save old towels I don't mind staining. When cool enough to handle, remove the beets from the foil, wrap each beet in a towel, and rub the peels away.
• Coarsely chop the beets and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the garlic, chile, lemon juice, cumin, and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and blend for about 5 minutes, until creamy and smooth. Slowly drizzle in the tahini and continue blending until the tahini is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste. If you want a thicker spread, blend in more tahini, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• When ready to serve, scoop the mixture onto a serving plate, drizzle it with the oil, and garnish it with the herbs.

MUTABBAL (EGGPLANT SALAD)

Steps:

• Remove the head of the eggplants, and make two horizontal incisions with the knife on each side of the eggplant.
• Place the eggplants under the grill for 30 minutes, until the skin is almost burnt. In the meantime, mix the two tablespoons of Tehina with the lemon juice until it becomes a smooth light beige uniform paste.
• Remove the eggplants, and place them on a plate.
• Bring a deep dish and open up the eggplants.
• Start removing the inside of the eggplants and placing it in the deep dish. Make sure you don't take any of the skin.
• The insides of the eggplant will be slightly watery, so mix it with a fork which would at the same time cut it into smaller pieces, almost a paste though not uniform in any way.
• Add the Tehina paste and mix well with the fork.
• Crush the garlic cloves with the chili pepper and add to the mixture.
• Mix well. Add salt and olive oil to taste.

MUTABAL

Steps:

• Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for grilling over high heat, or turn 3 gas burners to high. Place the eggplants directly onto the coals or flame and grill, using tongs to turn them as the skin chars, until blackened all over. Set aside to cool.
• Alternatively, roast the eggplant in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pierce the eggplants in a few places with a sharp knife, place them on the prepared baking sheet and roast, turning every 5 minutes or so, until the skin is blistered and begins to crack all over. Set aside to cool.
• Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, transferring it directly to a strainer to allow the liquid to release.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes with the chile peppers, if using, garlic, shallot, 1/2 cup parsley, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, cumin, pepper and salt. Add the drained eggplant and mix together with a fork. Transfer the eggplant mixture to a serving bowl and drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Garnish with the remaining parsley and surround with the cucumber slices.