Baba Ganoush

from River Cottage Veg Everyday
by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Published by Bloomsbury, 2011

I asked R what I should cook and he said to cook something that was extra, not part of a normal meal. A little pondering to figure out what he meant was needed, but of course it's perfectly obvious really. It's those things that you generally only make when you're pulling out all the stops, when you have visitors, or you're in a cooking-mad frenzy, or maybe when an actual meal is not required, just a little something.

I'm sure I must have had baba ganoush before at some point, because the idea of it is not wildly appealing - cold roast aubergine puree - and yet it did appeal. I'd planned to make this on a Friday night along with some the spinach and thyme pasties, but by the time I got in from taking Livia to her swimming lesson, the whole thing seemed like far too much effort. I roasted the aubergines and made the pastry and the filling and then left them to the next day. That was probably all for the best, as otherwise perhaps the baba ganoush would have been perhaps too warm. Actually though, the effort was minimal so probably even in my Friday night state of mind I could have pulled it together quite easily!

Oh, and baba ganoush is worth the effort! It's so delicious, silky smooth and garlicky. We had it with the pasties, but I also had some seedy rye crackers that we scooped it up with. Absolutely a winner.