When we lived in New York we were about a 10 minute walk away from a great little Lebanese place (Amir’s in Morningside Heights). Many Friday nights Ross and I wandered over, starving for quick and delicious Middle Eastern fare. Ross always got the chicken schwarma and I always got the falafel plate with baba ghanoush or hummus. My gosh, did I love that pile of eggplant goodness, but the hummus was so good too. What to choose?

Well, I was reminded of how much I loved those two sauces recently and thought, why not combine the two? Huzzah – brilliance! The flavors really combine well, taking the best of both worlds and violently pulverizing them together. Plus, by adding the chick peas you’re getting loads of protein and fiber. Nice!

Now, I need to get on re-creating that falafel…

Baba Ghanoush Hummus

Ingredients
1 15.5 ounce chickpeas
1 small eggplant
2 tbsp. tahini
1 tbsp. + 1-2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 tsp. smoked sea salt + extra (you can also use kosher or plain sea salt – i’m just obsessed with the smokines)
1/4 tsp. black pepper + extra
olive oil and fresh parsley for topping if desired

1.) Preheat your oven to 400*F. Peel the eggplant and cut into bite size cubes. Toss the cubes with 1-2 tsp. olive oil plus a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, until browned and tender.

2.) Drain the chickpeas and rinse them very well. Pour them into the food processor and add all other ingredients, except for the water. Pulse to combine and add the water as you need it. I used all of it because I like mine very creamy and on the looser side.

3.) Serve with a bit more olive oil and chopped parsley if desired. Store in the fridge.