I was at my favorite Korean supermarket yesterday and managed to get 7 aubergines (eggplants) for 1,200 won. How could I resist such a bargain? So I decided to make baba ganoush, a yummy eggplant dip. After the sucess of pizza dough I thought it would have a crack at making some flat breads too. This recipe is very easy to follow although with the dip you can alter it to suit your own tastes.
Baba ganoush
Ingredients
7 aubergines
3 table spoons of tahini (you can buy this at the foreign food market or make it yourself, its just sesame seeds and olive oil blended together)
2 tablespoons of sour cream (optional)
2- 6 cloves of garlic
lemon juice
salt
table spoon cumin
Directions
Slice your aubergines down the middle and drizzle with olive oil, then roast them in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they are soft inside and the skins are crinkly. I also roast the garlic at the same time. After they have cooled scoop out the flesh and mash with a fork, or you can do this in the blennder. The more traditional way is to just use the pulp inside, but i don’t like to waste the skins so i usually blend them up too (I dont think it really affects the taste either way). Add the roasted garlic and tahini and blend again. Then stir in the cumin, lemon juice and salt to taste. Drizzle with olive oil, paprika and some chopped fresh herbs to make it look pretty.
Flat Bread
Ingredients
500g of flour (I used the one for noodles and dumplings)
2 tablespoons of oil
10oz of water
8g pack of yeast (found in most Korean supermarkets)
2 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of mixed herbs
1 tablespoon of cumin
Directions
Stir the salt and instant yeast into the flour and mix well. Add the oil and water until the flour becomes dough like, you may not need all of the water or you may require a little more. When the dough is in a big ball and clearing the sides of the bowl and the bottom you have the right consistency and its time to start kneading. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes to make it more elastic. If you want to make pita breads in the oven then , leave the dough for an hour or so to proof. However if you want to make flat breads and cook them in the frying pan as I did you can start straight away. Take a small ball of the dough and roll out thinly on a floured surface with a rolling pin (if you dont have a rolling pin you could use a can of something heavy, although I think its well worth the 2 dollar investment at Daiso). Dry fry the flat bread for a minute or two on each side until its lightly browned and cooked through. Then serve with your delicious dip.
