Recipes from BigJeff: Health(ier) Babaganouj

Another recipe from BigJeff! (For an intro, check out his first post.) Using tofu as a substitute in recipes is a trick I've seen my brother pull off in several different dishes, including mac 'n' cheese, cauliflower gratin, and lasagna. As tofu takes on the flavors of whatever it is prepared with, it's particularly ideal when you want lighten things up, add body, and keep the creaminess of a dish without introducing another flavor.

The basic change in this babaganouj recipe is swapping out the traditional tahini for blended firm tofu, a touch of smoked paprika, and just a teaspoon of dark, roasted sesame oil. It remains rich-tasting and has the smokiness and flavor of eggplant, as well as a beautiful texture. The tofu also adds a lean protein boost.

Health(ier) Babaganouj
by BigJeff

3 large eggplants
3 squares medium or firm tofu
2-3 scallions, roughly chopped
1 head garlic + 3 cloves
juice of 1 large lemon
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs of your choice (dill, cilantro, etc.) to garnish

Wash (but don't peel or trim) the eggplants, pierce them all over with a fork, and roast in the oven whole for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until they become totally mushy and soft but still retain their shape. If you want, you can finish these eggplants on the grill for some real char flavor, but it's not necessary.

Roast the garlic at the same time as the eggplant: cut the top off the whole head of garlic (retain the other three cloves for later), salt a bit, top with a bit of olive oil, and roast alongside the eggplant. The garlic should soften considerably and almost rise out of its skins when it's done. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, blend the tofu, scallions, roast garlic, remaining raw garlic cloves, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and sesame oil. Halve the eggplants and scrape out the insides with a spoon or round spatula, being careful not to get any of the skin mixed in (it's delicious and blackened and smoky, but ultimately unhealthy), and mix into the blended tofu by hand. Add salt and pepper to taste. For a smoother babaganouj, you can use the food processor to blend the eggplant into the tofu, but I like to keep it chunky.

Top with freshly chopped herbs of your choice and a dusting of smoked paprika, and if you'd like, some fine olive oil. Serve with pita bread, crackers, cucumber and/or tomato slices, or as a side dish to grilled meats.

Taim and Birdbath: Flavors in trios and cookies in crumbles

On a rainy night several weeks ago SYB and I had dinner at the wee West Village joint Taim. Falafel isn't something I have often, despite what a previous post might have led you to believe; in the past four or five years, I've probably only eaten them a handful of times. They're just not something I crave. But after reading about this place over and over again on these two blogs and others, I figured I should give "the best falafel in New York" a try.

We both ordered the same thing, the mixed falafel platter. The falafel came in three varieties: roasted red pepper; harissa; and parsley and cilantro. The falafel was definitely good—moist inside and crisp and greaseless outside—but somehow I didn't find their flavors that exciting. I liked the red pepper one (maybe because of its slight sweetness?) but the other two didn't really blow my mind.

Each platter came with fat, fluffy pitas that had been drizzled with olive oil and za'atar (we had both asked for whole wheat); hummus; tabouli; Israeli salad; and a trio of sauces (tahini; amba, a sauce based on pickled mango; and a spicy, cilantro-y green sauce that I don't know the name of). Everything tasted really fresh and well-prepared. If I go a next time, I will try the sabich.

Afterwards we went to Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery, where I got a small, flaky "Green Power" cookie, studded with four little squares of candied jalapeño. Unfortunately by the time I got it home, the delicate pastry had broken into pieces in my bag. I tried some reconstruction, but there was no saving it.

Alas, that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Cookie Monster would be proud

The day after the fondue party, I took a long stroll up Steinway Street, hoping the walk would help burn off some of that cheese. But at 28th Avenue I found Laziza Sweets, a bakery with an enormous assortment of Middle Eastern pastries…and I ended up walking out with a styrofoam tray of picks from the display cases. I don't know the names of any of them, but here's what I got, clockwise from top:

1) a pistachio-filled, honey-soaked nest of shredded wheat
2) a nut-filled cookie
3) a plain cookie with a soft, sweet, smudgy coating
4) a doughnut-shaped, date-filled cookie
5) a date-filled cookie that reminded me of a Chinese mooncake
6) the same nut-filled cookie as above but with powdered sugar dusted over it
7) a plain crescent scented with cardamom

I ate these over several days. Like the Moroccan-ish cookies I had made several months ago, all had that particular tender texture that comes from using oil in the dough instead of butter. Excluding the pistachio pastry, they had good level of sweetness too. The one pictured on the right surprised me, as the filling was really a nutty, crumbly dough—something like a cookie wrapped in cookie. Everything I bought tasted very fresh, so if you're looking for some quality Middle Eastern sweets, Laziza is a good bet.

Astoria, Astoria

Last Sunday I spent a lazy afternoon walking around my 'hood, making my way from my apartment all the way up to the Ditmars area, stopping at Astoria Park along the way.

I wandered around for several hours, moseying down new streets, taking photos, and cooing at the dogs I saw at Bugsy's dog run. After all that I got hungry, so at Ditmars I looked around for something interesting I could bring back to my apartment for dinner. I passed up a cannoli from one of my favorite bakeries, Rose and Joe's, in favor of a small pignoli tart from La Guli.

Later, spotting the grand opening banners at Parrot Coffee Market, I wandered into what turned out to be a new international grocery, full of all sorts of interesting European imports. The friendly woman behind the counter urged me to sample a piece of their freshly made pistachio Turkish delight. It was delish…I can totally see why Edmund sold out to the White Witch.

I was tempted to buy some, but as I already had the pignoli tart I went with a slice of their cheese bourek.

I also picked up these tubes of "Krabben" and "Kaviar" creme (maybe I should spell it "kreme") for LB and JL. Then, too lazy to make the walk home, I hopped on the N train back to my apartment.

It was a fine afternoon.

This is not Proust's madeleine

When I was in college Mamoun's seemed like the greatest thing on earth: two bucks for a huge, filling falafel sandwich. Now, six years later, I'm taken aback at how not great Mamoun's is. The sandwich I got last week was a thin, dry pita filled with iceberg lettuce, pale and tasteless chopped tomatoes, strong white onions, overly salty falafel, and a tablespoon or two of watery tahini. After eating half, I probably would have thrown out the rest if SYB hadn't finished it for me.