Sometimes running out of food is the best thing, because it's only then that I start mixing ingredients that I would not normally consider combining in one dish. A couple of days ago I was really hungry but was almost out of everything including tomatoes. I did have pasta, and two big aubergines, and there is always tahini on my shelf! So, suddenly the thought crossed my mind that pasta with roasted aubergine and tahini (also known as baba ganoush!) might be really tasty, and would for sure be a good hearty lunch. It was a quick and easy dish to prepare, with the roasting of the aubergine taking the longest. It is possible to fry aubergine to cook and soften it, but nothing compares to a well roasted aubergine with that slight charred flavor and incredible texture. Suffice is to say, it was REALLY good, and definitely something worth sharing with you all if you feel like trying something totally different in the pasta world.
So go grab your aubergines, search the streets for a good tahini paste and let's get cooking!
What You Will Need
- 1 x Aubergine
- A few Onions
- Some Garlic
- 1 Capsicum (Bell Pepper)
- Tahini Paste
- Garlic
- A Lemon or a Lime
- Fresh Basil ( I grew two big plants from a few cuttings I took a few months ago. Thanks a lot @gardenbsquared for that tip, it worked SO well!)
- Your favorite Pasta
- Olive Oil
- Salt n Pepper to taste
How To Make It!
The Sauce
- Wash your aubergine and place it directly on the open flame of your cooker. If you have a fire that is even better! If you don't have a gas cooker then you can roast it in the oven or a covered pan. Don't cut or prick holes in the skin. This will preserve the colour and also the taste. If you want to reduce the mess you can cover with some aluminum foil.
- Cook for 10 minutes and turn cooking again for a further 10 minutes.
- When the skin is black and charred, and the aubergine feels very soft it is time to remove it from the flame.
- Leave to cool down for 10 minutes
- Cut in half and allow any juices to drain away, we don't want these juices!
- Scoop out the soft center using a spoon and discard the black burned skin. It's OK if there are some small black flecks, that adds to the taste!
- Using a knife, chop the aubergine up until there are no long stringy bits left. You don't want to blend this or mash it with a fork as you will change the texture.
- Make The Tahini Sauce by mixing around half a cup of tahini paste with lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. You can add a little water to loosen it up. You are looking for a consistency something like the below image. It should drip off a spoon or fork.
- Then mix this tahini sauce with the aubergine and crushed garlic. You can also add some finely chopped fresh basil. I kept most of mine for the garnishing.
- Mix well and set aside
- Now heat a pan up and sauté the chopped onions, capsicum and garlic until translucent and soft. Then add the aubergine and tahini sauce in a pan and fry and mix well.
- Finally add the pasta and mix well on low heat. If all goes well, it might look something like this.
- And finally, get this gorgeous tasting stuff into a bowl and Enjoy!
I hope you try this one out, I give it an 8.5 out of 10! Maybe you can suggest something we could add to this dish to take it to the next level?
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