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Answers: BABA GHANOUJ:

Ingredients:

2 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)*
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, chopped
Pita bread wedges

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Roast until eggplant is very soft, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into strainer set over bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain from eggplant.

Transfer eggplant pulp to processor. Add 1/4 cup oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic; process until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Serve with pita wedges.

* Available at Middle Eastern and natural foods stores and some supermarkets.

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BAKLAVA:

For syrup:

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 lemon, halved
1 orange, halved
1 1/2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2/3 cup honey

For baklava:

3 1/4 cups whole almonds with skins (1 lb), finely chopped
2 1/3 cups walnuts (1/2 lb), finely chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 (1-lb) package phyllo dough (17 by 12 inches; about 28 sheets), thawed if frozen

Preparation

To Make syrup:
Combine sugar and water in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan. Squeeze juice from lemon and orange into sugar mixture. Add fruit halves and cinnamon sticks. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, then simmer 10 minutes. Stir in honey and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing hard on, then discarding, solids. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.

Assemble and bake baklava:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until combined well.

Generously brush a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, then brushing every second sheet generously with butter, until you have used 10 sheets of phyllo total. After brushing top layer of phyllo with butter, spread a rounded 1 1/2 cups of nut mixture over it. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter.

Repeat layering 3 more times. Top with 10 more sheets of phyllo. (You will use 50 sheets of phyllo total.) Butter top and let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly (to facilitate cutting), 10 to 15 minutes.

Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 16 equal rectangles, then cut each piece in half diagonally. (Be sure to cut all the way through.)

Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. (Cover once baklava is at room temperature.) Do not chill.

Cooks' notes:
? Syrup can be made up to 5 days ahead and chilled, covered.
? Baklava keeps in an airtight container up to 1 week.

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excellent recipes above but I prefer my eggplant cooked in the microwave. To me it comes out less bitter

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here it is..

Baba Ghanoush - the Best in the World!

1 large eggplant
1/4 cup tahini, plus more as needed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
1 pinch ground cumin
salt, to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup brine-cured black olives, such as kalamata

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill.
Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill rack 4 to 5 inches from the fire.
Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin.
Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl.
Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste.
Add the 1/4 cup tahini, the garlic, the 1/4 cup lemon juice and the cumin and mix well.
Season with salt, then taste and add more tahini and/or lemon juice, if needed.
Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well.
Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley.
Place the olives around the sides.
Serve at room temperature.


Baklawa, delight of the Middle East!

Baklawa

A universal dessert. Baklawa is known in many cultures including the Middle East, Greek, Eastern Europe, and even in Western Europe and the United States. Each culture has its unique mixture and ingredients combination. The one listed below is just one of the many possibilities. Honey is used here as a topping syrup, but you can use home-made syrup made from white cane sugar, or, you can serve it dry.

1 1/2 pounds chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 pound melted sweet butter
2 pounds thin sheet Fillo, or shredded Fillo Dough
1 cup honey

To make the stuffing, combine and mix walnuts, sugar and cardamom. Set aside.

Brush a baking dish measuring about 9x13x2 inch with some of the melted butter.

Spread one Fillo sheet flat in the pan, brush with about 1 teaspoon butter. Stack about 15 Fillo sheets using this method.

Spread one half of the stuffing mixture on the Fillo sheets.

Spread and butter about five Fillo sheets on top of the first layer of stuffing.

Spread the remaining half of the stuffing on top.

Spread and butter about 15 Fillo sheets to make the top and final layer. Use more butter if you run out, or use less for each Fillo layer.

With a sharp knife, cut in diamond, or square shapes.

Pour remaining melted butter on top.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the surface turns light golden color.

Pour honey over Baklawa. When at room temperature, transfer individual pieces onto a serving dish.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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