It’s a rainy day and I’m remembering roasted eggplant dip made by friends. Palestinian food is so diverse, rich, tasty, using simple, local ingredients.
Choose a rainy day to make this; everything tastes better over the fire, with the rain (assuming you have a place where you can make a fire).
First, make a fire.
Bring with you 1 large, plump eggplant, 5 green hot chili peppers, 1 plump tomato, lots of garlic, one lemon, olive oil, sesame seeds and cooking onions.
Pitta or flatbread also needed.
Plop the eggplant directly on the fire, let it roast, turn it periodically until it is fully roasted, soft. Throw the onions on there as well.
In a sturdy bowl, mash together heaps of garlic and 2 of the chilis.
Put the 3 remaining chili peppers on the fire and let roast. Add tomato to fire.
When the eggplant and tomato are roasted, peel them and add to bowl of chili and garlic. Squeeze the lemon and add juice to bowl. Mix all together and top with hefty amounts of olive oil (preferably Zaytoun fairtrade Palestinian olive oil), salt to taste, and sesame seeds. Toast the flatbread over the fire’s soft coals.
Tear the flatbread with your hands and, from the same bowl, share the roasted eggplant with friends. Eat the soft, sweet roasted onions separately.
In Gaza 