I love making up a nice appetizer plate for entertaining or sometimes just because. Yesterday while shopping at Whole Foods Market in Bellingham, Massachusetts, I stumbled upon an outdoor farmer’s market. Love that! I ran into Brittany, the farm manager of Medway Community Farm selling some great produce. I couldn’t resist the basil and kale so of course made a purchase!
There was a gentleman selling these recycled wooden cutting boards and I found a very cool one made of an African hard wood called, wenge. Look at how great my appetizers look displayed on my new find. If you live local, check out the market which features local farmers and artisans on Mondays, 4-7 P.M. @ Whole Foods Market, Bellingham, MA
It’s not quite eggplant season in New England, in fact, I decided to check out the eggplants growing at Tangerini’s Farm in Millis, MA where I am a CSA member. Laura Tangerini pointed out the area where the eggplants where growing and my son Brennan and I literally plowed through the fields to check them out. Note to self: Don’t wear flip flops next time! Most of the plants were just flowering but we did get a chance to check out some baby fairytale eggplants. These are baby purple striped eggplants. Cute, right?
And here just bitty eggplants
I got a jump start and purchased a grocery store eggplant to make this eggplant dip, called Baba Ganoush. It’s similiar to hummus, but the chick peas are substituted for grilled eggplant.
First I grilled the eggplant:
Nutrition info: Eggplant only has 35 calories for cup and 2.5 grams of fiber most of the key nutrition is in the skin.
After grilling up the eggplant and letting it cool a bit, I made some eggplant dip-it’s delicious.
Sorry FODMAPers this is one of the few, NOT FODMAP friendly recipes here. I have not tried this yet but to make it low in FODMAPs, you could try to sub in 2 tablespoons of pine nuts or walnuts for the tahini to add some nutty taste (without the FODMAPs of tahini) and use about 1 tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil for the garlic. If you try it out, let me know how it comes out!!
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large eggplant
- ¼ cup tahini (sesame paste-found in nut butter or salad dressing area of grocery store)
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Fire roast the eggplant by pricking it with a fork and placing it on the grill for 45 minutes. Rotate the eggplant every 15 minutes. Skin will burn, that’s okay, you don’ t use the skin.
- Let eggplant cool to room temperature.
- Slice eggplant in half and scoop out all the inner flesh. Add to food processor fit with a steel blade.
- Add remaining ingredients and puree to smooth consistency.
- Serve at room temperature with olive medley, crostini or mini whole wheat pitas and pesto chicken (sautéed chicken drizzled with homemade or store bought pesto.)
What’s your favorite eggplant recipe?
Lauren
Hi Kate,
How could I make this recipe FODMAP friendly? I’m guessing the tahini would need to be replaced with something….
Thanks for all your great recipes and FODMAP regimen tips! As a newcomer to the diet, I can’t tell you how much of a help your website and blog have been.
katescarlata
Hey Lauren….that is one of my older recipes you dug up! I love grilled eggplant dip! I just updated that post with a potential low FODMAP version, this is what I wrote: “I have not tried this yet but you could try to sub in 2 tablespoons of pine nuts or walnuts for the tahini to add some nutty taste without the FODMAPs of tahini and use about 1 tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil for the garlic. If you try it out, let me know how it comes out!”