Baba Ghanoush & Cucumber Sliders

This recipe came out of troubleshooting the following food-related challenges  opportunities I was posed with last week:

1. We have cucumbers growing like crazy in our garden right now, and I needed to use them up in any way possible. They were large field cucumbers, which worked just fine, but I think smaller english cucumbers (with no seeds!) might work a bit better.
2. We received an eggplant in our weekly CSA bin, and I don’t normally cook with eggplant. To be honest, I don’t really love eggplant, but I didn’t want it to go to waste. This is what I will do with eggplant going forward! 
3. I needed to create an appetizer that I can eat (grain, dairy, legume free), but that was also vegetarian friendly. Guacamole is usually our go-to, but that was already being brought to the event, so it was time to get creative!

So many appetizers are based on bread, and since bread is such an epically nutrient-poor, processed food (even the gluten-free versions!) I thought I would use cucumber slices in place of a cracker or crostini, and top it with baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant dip). To make sure the dip didn’t slide off the cucumber, I cut the cucumber into thicker discs, and scooped out the flesh in the middle to make it a little cup. They worked great!

You could easily use this same approach and fill the cucumber cups with guacamole, egg/tuna salad, salsa or hummus/bean dip (if tolerated). 

Baba Ghanoush & Cucumber Sliders

2015-09-03 11:06:50

A delicious, nutrient-dense appetizer that is free of grains and dairy. Vegan friendly as well!

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Baba Ghanoush

1. 2 medium eggplants
2. 2-3 cloves garlic
3. 3 tbsp tahini
4. 1 lemon, juiced
5. 1 tsp cumin
6. ½ tsp sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
7. ¼ cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Cucumber Sliders

1. Cucumbers

Instructions

1. Slice eggplant into ¼ inch rounds.
2. Sprinkle with sea salt and place in a colander in the sink.
3. After 10 minutes, rinse off and pat dry with a tea towel.
4. Turn your oven to broil.
5. Lay eggplant rounds on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
6. Broil 10-15 minutes, flipping once, until eggplant is golden brown and soft.
7. Remove from oven and let cool.
8. Once cool, peel/cut off skin. Add eggplant to food processor.
9. Add remaining ingredients and mix until creamy.
10. Meanwhile, slice cucumber into discs, about 1 inch thick.
11. Scoop out half of the inner flesh, taking care not to go all the way through.
12. Fill with baba ghanoush.

Notes

1. To fill cups nicely, place dip in a piping or a ziploc bag with the corner cut off. Pipe dip into cucumber cups.
2. Other dips would work great as well
3. - salsa
4. - tuna/egg salad
5. - guacamole
6. - ranch dip
7. - hummus or bean dip (if tolerated)

By Amanda Naturally

Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/