Aubergine

I love that word - SO much prettier than "eggplant".  Aubergine...

I counted an aubergine amongst my purchases from Cental Market on Sunday and I've decided that tonight I'm going to turn it into a delicious Baba Ganoush.  I found an approximate recipe depicting how I make mine here, but I don't cook my aubergine quite the same way.  I use a dry, non-stick frying pan on the stove top (I supposed if I had a gas stove I'd go his route, but I've been stuck with electric cooking appliances since I was in Florida...), I get it rip-roaring hot and I use tongs to rotate the eggplant until all of the outside is charred and softened.  I don't cook/roast it at all past this stage.  I wait til it cools a bit and the charred skin just peels right off.  I then cut off the softened flesh from around the perimeter and just leave the seeds attached to the uncooked core (I'm not at all a fan of eggplant seeds so this method is perfect for me).  The rest of the ingredients are pretty standard, I always have lemon and cumin hanging around as well as garlic (I turn the garlic into a paste for better integration into the dip) and I hauled my tahini with me all the way from Florida, so at least now I can claim it was worth it.  I also reduce amount of the other ingredients a bit since the elimination of the seeded area significantly decreases the aubergine ratio.  And just zipping it all together in the food processor makes this a quick, tasty (and low calorie) snack!