Middle Eastern dinner with okra and eggplant

[weizenwind]

Tonight I was brainstorming things to do with my farmers' market okra via IM with sugar_lumps, and she described a Palestinian treatment that fit the bill perfectly. Of course, I can never follow a recipe without messing with it, so I'm making no claims of authenticity. It was awfully tasty, though, rounded out with hummus (made from locally grown beans also

Comments

[dudewhatthefuuu]

That looks yummy...I love eggplant.

[weizenwind]

You know, there's an Afghan dish that's very similar and uses just eggplant. Instead of the thyme, it's coriander (ground seed) and oregano, and the dish is baked rather than sauteed. I highly recommend that one, too.

[dudewhatthefuuu]

That sounds good too. <3 oregano

[compostwormbin]

Wow... I hope I can find harissa so I can try this!

That hummus looks especially nice. Mind posting your recipe for that one too?

[weizenwind]

Sorry, I really can't post the hummus recipe since I just add things until it tastes right. Here are some notes on it, though.

- I cooked the beans from scratch and actually overcooked them a bit. That made for very smooth hummus!
- Don't be shy with the olive oil.
- Do be shy with the tahini, especially if its toasted. It's easy to add too much.
- Be careful when adding the lemon juice, since not enough = boring hummus, and too much overpowers the other flavors.
- Top with a dab of harissa, paprika (smoked if you have it), and even more olive oil.

You could use Tabasco or sriracha in the okra dish if you can't find (or don't want to make) harissa. It would be different, but still good.

[compostwormbin]

Mmm, thank you so much. Still looking for harissa...

[parsprototo]

Oh my gosh! This looks great! I was racking my brain all weekend, trying to find something to do with my CSA okra, and I think this is perfect. I actually have all of the ingredients, too! Thanks!

[laceyslostlove]

girl you better fry that okra southern style! LOL.

[bitter_moss]

Yum that looks so good! I hope harissa is to be found here in Brisbane - i'll have to hit up some delis...

[weizenwind]

You can also make it yourself--just google for recipes.

[bladley]

Wow, this looks fantastic! I have some eggplant in the fridge that I've been trying to figure out some recipes for, now I need to get me some Okra and hope I can find some Harissa! Thank you so much!

[weizenwind]

I should probably clarify--harissa is delicious in this, but it's not mandatory nor even probably authentic. If you wanted to sub another hot sauce or roasted bell peppers or even skip that part entirely you'd still have a tasty dish on your hands.

[bladley]

I do have a couple different hot sauces, including Sriracha, in my fridge. Hopefully I can try this out soon and post back about how it was!