Another Two Fer, Honey Roasted Tomatoes & Baba Ganoush


“It’s a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do.” » Walter Winchell

Too hot and muggy to spend a lot of time in the kitchen so I’ve managed to produce a few things for an appetizer dinner and in keeping with the cooking club theme this week “spreads & dips” the first Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe is lovely honey roasted cherry tomatoes to spread on some fantastic parchment crackers that I find at Trader Joe’s.  The second recipe is for baba ganoush a very old favorite of mine so I’ve saved Hugh’s recipe for that as well and will be perfect with crispy pita chips, lastly, there is some of that very good cheese ball that I made the other night and will definitely put Vivian Howard’s in the keeper file.   All in all, a very nice plate of goodies to have with a good bottle of wine on what could be another rainy night in NC, but that is okay we have a nice covered back porch.

I found myself scooping a little baba ganoush on top of the chip or cracker and topped it off with some of the tomatoes, delish so when it came time to put the leftovers away, I just mixed the two together for a lunch time snack for the next day.  Recipes adapted of course, but I did use several more tomatoes. EVOO and a local honey!

1 pound cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon clear honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 PREPARATION
    1. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Lightly oil a roasting pan. Halve the tomatoes and place them, cut side up, in the dish. They should fit snugly with little or no space between them.
    2. Crush the garlic with a pinch of salt, then beat it with the honey, olive oil, and a good grinding of pepper. Spoon this sticky, garlicky mixture over the cherry tomatoes. Roast for about 30 minutes, until golden, juicy, and bubbling.

Both of Hugh’s recipes are easy and great for a casual party or game night…
SERVES 4
4 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds )
1 large garlic clove, crushed (oh I needed more garlic like 2-3 cloves)
2 tablespoons tahini (or smooth peanut or cashew nut butter)
A good squeeze of lemon juice Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO FINISH A handful of parsley, chopped
Drizzles of Extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin, less is better
a sprinkle of paprika
*my dip was a little bitter so I drizzled a little honey along with the EVOO

Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hugh. River Cottage Veg: 200 Inspired Vegetable Recipes (Kindle Locations 4092-4100). Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony. Kindle