Marvelous Mutabbal

Sunday the Austin Food Bloggers gathered for another potluck. This month’s theme was Hatch chile peppers. Our local markets have giant roasters and for the past two weeks have provided us with the most delicious peppers.

I really didn’t want to be the cliché vegan bringing hummus to the party, and I came awfully close by selecting Mutabbal for my dish. I got the idea from Bryanna Clark Grogan. Mutabbal is basically a spicy version of baba ganoush. Bryanna’s recipe didn’t actually use any peppers though, just chile powder, so I improvised my own tasty recipe. I thought my Mutabbal turned out fabulously, and it got raves at the potluck. One guest said it was her favorite dish at the party, which I take as quite a compliment coming from a group of accomplished and creative foodies. So if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some Hatch chiles, this would be a great way to use them. If not, a poblano or even a jalapeno would work as well.

Mutabbal

(This recipe serves 12, but can easily be halved.)

Ingredients:

3 large eggplants, totaling about 3-1/2 pounds
12 cloves garlic, cut into several long wedges
½ pound roasted Hatch chile peppers
6 T. tahini
4 T. EVOO
4 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley, plus more to garnish
¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts, to garnish
pomegranate seeds, to garnish

Directions:

Prepare your outdoor grill and set it to high. Wash the eggplants and trim the tops, but don’t cut off the tops. Make many slits on each eggplant and insert the garlic wedges into the slits. Place the eggplants on the grill and grill until the eggplants are very soft, about 20 minutes. Turn the eggplants every 5 minutes to char evenly. Remove to a plate to cool. They will look like this:

When the eggplants are cool, remove the charred skins and chop off the tops. Place the eggplants with the garlic into a food processor. Pulse a few times. Add the roasted peppers, tahini, EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Puree until almost smooth (a little chunky is nice). Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your tastes. Let chill for several hours or overnight; it keeps well for several days.

Spread the eggplant mixture onto a platter. Garnish with the parsley, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds. Serve with pita chips.

Not only does it look beautiful, but it tastes out of this world!

Here’s a few pictures from the potluck. Every dish was made with Hatch chiles, including brownies, cookies, breads, mac n’ cheese, Indian food, sandwiches, popcorn, gazpacho, and a fabulous vegan orzo pasta.

Rachel brought a delicious vegan peach cobbler with Hatch biscuits.

I think my favorite was the Hatch chile vodka served with habanero ice cubes – yum!

I hope you enjoy the Mutabbal recipe, and by the way, eat’n veg’n is now three years old!