Baba Ghanouj (smokey aubergine and tahini spread)

The naughty sister of the mighty Hummus, Baba Ghanouj certainly is a cheeky little Middle Eastern spread! The basic idea is to replace the chickpeas of the hummus recipe with roasted aubergine et voila! Enjoy with bread and savour the earthy flavours - sure beats a processed cheese spread.

Cost per medium sized jar: around 5 zl (1 UK pound Sterling)

What you'll need:

- 1-2 aubergines
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp tahini paste
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste

What next?

1. Heat your oven up to max (over 220 degrees if you can)

2. Rub oil over aubergines. Give them a good massage. Lay on a baking tray. I'll be using one of these aubergines for the baba ghanouj and another for a recipe coming up soon!

3. Just look at those aubergines! Fresh from the market. Locally grown. Wonderful! Into the hot oven. 30 minutes. Out.

4. The skin should be brittle and the inside will have transformed into a soft pulp. Cool a bit and pull off the skin. Scoop out the pulp.

5. Put the pulp into a cheese cloth (or in my case, a poor quality yet hyper-clean tea towel which is quite porous)

6. Bring the sides of the tea towel up and start squeezing the pulp inside. A lot of moisture should come out and the tea towel will get a little stained - don't worry! Just clean later by boiling in a pan with a little washing powder.

7. After you've really squeezed the moisture out, scrape out the pulp into a bowl.

8. Prep the other ingredients

9. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend up to a fine consistency. Add a glug of olive oil if it's too dry. Season. 

10. You're there!

Enjoy with crusty bread and maybe a little olive oil and a smattering of cayenne pepper.