One of the truly most decadent dishes I have ever tasted in Israel is the many versions off eggplant mousse.  A longtime fan of baba ganoush, I was skeptical a few years ago when I tried my first version of this classic Middle Eastern staple in a mousse form.  I am not the biggest fan of French technique cooking; I find the raw grittiness of food in a more pure form typically attracts me greater than dishes that are over concocted.  But even so I am always willing to try anything (except liver), and so I did.  To my amazement, I fell in love with eggplant made into a mousse.  There is something so luxurious about the texture and taste.  There are several different versions of the dish of course and I typically and happy with most, some more lemony, others more cuminy, while my favorites tend to be smoky and herbaceous tasting with lots of sumac and paprika.  I guess the point to all of this is don’t underestimate the mousse and certainly let’s keep eating baba ganoush, but don’t overlook a smoky eggplant mousse if you come across one and this recipe is my best recollection of the best I have had, combined with hot grilled flat bread you can sit in complete luxury even all alone, and indulge in this one of a kind dish.

Smokey Eggplant Mousse

Makes 3 -4 cups

2 large eggplants
1 bulb of garlic, to use 4 cloves
olive oil
Sea salt
1 teaspoon sumac
½ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons smoky Spanish paprika
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped fine
Zest of one lemon, grated super fine
Juice of 1 lemon
salt

Prepare a Charcoal grill or pre heat a gas grill (charcoal grill gives a much smokier flavor) Cut the eggplants in half and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and sumac.  Place eggplant side down first and grill for a few minutes turning once until eggplant is tender.  Place garlic right on grill to cook until tender.   Allow to cool and scoop out inside of eggplant and place in blender.  Place 4-5 cloves of garlic in the blender as well (remove skins first).  Pour in olive oil and blend until light and fluffy or mousse consistency.  Transfer to a bowl and gently mix in spices and herbs.

Grilled Flat Bread

Makes 6  hand sized breads

1 ½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
Olive oil
Coarse salt
¼ cup za’ater

In a small bowl combine warm water and yeast, whisk a bit to mix and let stand for about 10 minutes or until the yeast is frothy and dissolved.  In a large bowl mix the flour and salt, add the yeast mixture and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Mix well with hands or a wooden spoon until a sticky dough is made, adding more flour or water if needed.  Turn the dough out onto a floured flat surface and knead until smooth and elastic or about 5-10 minutes.  Grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough (smooth and elastic) in a round ball int eh bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap.  Place in a warm area and let rise until more than doubled in size or approximately 1 ½ hours.  Punch down dough and divide into 6 balls.  Roll out each ball into hand size flat bread.  Make sure the barbeque is preheated to medium or medium high heat.  Grill each flat bread until golden brown with grill marks, or about 3-4 minutes per side.  Take off the grill and immediately brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and za’atar.