experiments

Raw Baba Ganouj

You have probably heard of the Raw Food Movement. If not, in short it involves a vegan diet, taken to the next level. No food is cooked above 118 degrees (some say 116…). Nuts and seeds are sprouted and only raw, unpastuerized ingredients are used. This type of diet is great if you can keep up with it. Every now and then, I try to go raw for a few weeks to months out of a year. To what extent, really depends on the food available. Most of the time, the best I can do is incorporate raw dishes into my diet.

2 years ago when I got wind of the Raw movement, I bought two books. One of which was “The Uncook Book” by Juliano. In it he had a sprouted hummus recipe that was pretty good. I experimented with making a raw baba ganouj due to my surplus of eggplant in this weeks CSA.

In a bowl:
chop eggplant finely
add 2 tbspns nama shoyu
1tsp-1tbspn apple cider vinegar [Bragg’s]
cut a dried cayenne or two very finely
add a scallion or two if you have them
toss and let it sit in your fridge until you are ready.
I left mine for two days, though one working day would have been enough.

Break out the blender and add:
Your marinated eggplant
One heaping spoon of raw, unsalted tahini
1 or two small garlic cloves
Lemon or lime juice

Blend until smooth.
Taste. It tastes pretty similar to hummus, with a slight eggplant flavor.

I didn’t have time to make any raw crackers, so I ended up using some whole wheat mini pitas and tomatoes. For good raw cracker options, check our Sarma Melngailis’ book- “Raw Food, Real World”.

© 2008 Eat Local NC.