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Mediterranean Diet

Posted on May 27 2012

Dietitian A Day – Mediterranean Diet Month Celebration – Day 27


Try This Dish Baba Ganoush

Tricia M. O Keefe, RD
Tricia is a registered dietitian, cooking instructor and wellness advisor at Stanford University, and a food blogger based out of San Francisco. You can visit her blog for delicious, plant-based recipes or say hello to her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @DishByTrish.


May marks the celebration of National Mediterranean Diet Month. Although it is referred to as a diet, the Mediterranean Diet really refers to the way of eating commonly found in regions of the Mediterranean Sea including countries like Spain, Italy, Greece and Morocco. Staples in this diet often include fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, fish and healthy fats. Not only does this diet include delicious food and simply prepared dishes, but research has demonstrated strong ties to heart-health and other benefits. The Mediterranean Diet has been found to be low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber.

To highlight a Mediterranean-inspired recipe, I’d like to share with you my Baba Ganoush. Baba Ganoush is one of my go-to appetizers. I like making a trio of dips by combining this with hummus and a red pepper dip and serving them with bite-size raw veggies. If you like eggplant and you have never tried Baba Ganoush, this will be a special treat for you.

It is a good idea to keep the skin on the eggplants until you have roasted them. This will allow the pulp to stay nice and tender which will be perfect for pureeing. I like adding a handful of unsalted pistachios to the dip but this is optional. Enjoy!

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients:

TrishRecipe.jpg

8 ounces eggplant (I used 3 small Rosa Blanca eggplants)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ lemon, juiced and zested
12 unsalted pistachios
1 tablespoon tahini paste
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place eggplants on baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes.

Fill a bowl up with cold water. Dunk eggplant in the bowl and remove. Peel skin of eggplants.

In a blender or food processor, place skinned eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, pistachios, tahini, oil, and salt and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate before serving and serve with pita bread or crackers. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 servings

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