Day 37/180: Deconstructed Baba Ganoush with Roasted Vegetables

The idea for this recipe came to me as I was looking at some seed catalogs. I was admiring the eggplant varieties when it occurred to me that the components of Baba Ganoush would work well separately.

Ingredients

• 1 small eggplant
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 4 large button mushrooms
• 6-8 small white onions
• 2 tsp tahini
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• more olive oil

Method

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2" thick rounds.
2. Place eggplant in a bowl and salt it.
3. Come back an hour later.
4. Heat the oven to 375.
5. Slice bell pepper into strips.
6. Peel the onions and remove the root and tip.
7. Slice the mushrooms in half.
8. Crush but do not mince 1 clove of garlic (the others are for the sauce).
9. Drain the liquid from the eggplant.
10. Add a couple of glugs of olive oil to the bowl.
11. Put all the vegetables (except the garlic) into the bowl and toss until well coated with oil.
12. Place vegetables on a shallow baking pan with the crushed garlic clove in the middle. (Optional: you can dust the eggplant rounds with a spice mix.)
13. Place pan on center rack in oven for 35 minutes.
14. Crush and mince remaining garlic cloves.
15. Combine the garlic with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
16. Mix well.
17. After 35 minutes, turn the oven off.
18. Put the pan under the broiler for about two minutes, or until the vegetables start to brown.
19. Let the vegetables cool for a minute.
20. Arrange tastefully on a plate.
21. Drizzle the sauce over the eggplant.

This was one of the nicest meals I've made.