An unctuous aubergine dip recipe that doesn’t include tahini. It’s actually a little reminiscent of guacamole. Lightly flavoured with garlic and smoked paprika, once started, it’s hard to stop dipping.
The Cranks Bible: a timeless collection of vegetarian recipes by Nadine Abensur is one of my treasured cookery books. I bought it when it was first published in 2001 and have taken inspiration from it ever since. Despite its frequent use as a bed time read, there are many recipes I’ve barely looked at. The one for aubergine purée with cumin pitot is one such, or in my more prosaic terminology, aubergine dip.
The Cranks Bible
The original edition of The Cranks Bible has sadly gone out of print. But to celebrate its 15th anniversary, Orion in association with Cranks, has just published a new paperback edition. The recipes are exactly the same as the original except for one important addition – ta da – my recipe for cashew nut butter brownies. Yes, that’s right, I’m up there with Nadine Abensur, mine is the very first recipe in the book.
How did it get there I hear you ask? After my amazing award of Best Food Blogger in the South West, I’m getting a bit more used to strutting my stuff. I won best recipe in a Cranks competition and this was the reward. Excitingly, I have three copies to give away to my readers. You’ll find details of how to enter at the bottom of the post.
The original book is a lovely large purple hardback, with beautiful photographs that make you want to dive right in. The new edition must be aimed at the more serious cook as there are no photographs. I like pictures in a book as it gives me an idea as to what I should be aiming at, but not having them in does make for a much lighter and more portable book. You could easily stow it away in your bag for a bit of food inspiration on the daily commute or long train journey. Or is that just me?
It’s decidedly cheaper too with an RRP of just £9.99. I approve of the retro cover and the featured vegetable must have been whispering aubergine dip to me.
Contents
The book has a new introduction from Nadine, celebrating the rise of the whole foods that Cranks had pioneered way back in the 1960s. She also urges caution: demonising specific ingredients and food groups might be premature and detrimental in the long term. I have to agree with her, look at how the received wisdom on fat has changed over the last couple of decades. And the jury’s still out as to whether olive oil or rapeseed is better.
Nadine Abensur is passionate about good vegetarian food made from wholesome ingredients. If some of them can be home grown, so much the better. Inspired by an eclectic mix of cuisines, her recipes are interesting, healthy and most importantly, mouthwatering. They’re very much written with the home cook in mind and a number of tips are peppered throughout.
I particularly like the way the book is organised; it has chapters on spring & summer vegetables and autumn & winter vegetables, but each of these are subdivided into recipes for specific items. My aubergine dip, for example, is in the Aubergine section; as well as having a number of recipes where the humble egg plant is the main ingredient, it cross-references other recipes in the book where aubergines are also included.
Further chapters are organised in a similar way: beans & pulses, pasta & some alternatives, rice & some other grains, dressings, oils & vinegars, fruit & nuts, bread, biscuits & baking and much to my delight, chocolate & cream. I’m not going to tell you which is my favourite recipe (of the ones I’ve made), because one day I will blog my adaptation of it.
But I’ve tried my hand at a fair few and there are even more that I’ve bookmarked. One such is chocolate and almond meringue, a heady affair of almond meringue layered with chocolate mousse and chantilly cream.
Slightly healthier offerings include: Japanese noodle salad with Thai overtones, a quick aromatic laksa and pasta pouches with pumpkin and mango chutney. I could go on, but with 200 recipes to choose from, you’ll have to take my word that there’s something for everyone and for every occasion.
Aubergine Dip
I’m by no means a fussy eater, but I’m a bit funny about aubergines. I think I ate a dodgy moussaka, at the tender age of eighteen, when I was still a meat eater and it rather put me off. But I can’t avoid them for ever it seems. One turned up in my veg box recently, so as I cannot abide waste, I was forced into doing something with it.
Time to turn to The Cranks Bible and see if I could find something to tempt me. The first recipe I saw was for an aubergine dip. Now I’m very familiar with baba ghanoush from my days in Egypt, but I tend to avoid it if I can. I adore tahini and hummus, but I’ll pass on the aubergines.
However this recipe, despite its obvious Middle Eastern origins, did not include tahini. I thought I’d give it a go, with an odd tweak here and there – of course.
It’s not quite as easy as some dips to make, when you just chuck everything into a blender and blitz. But it isn’t difficult either. You just need to cook the aubergine, shallot and garlic first. You can either roast them in the oven or fry them on the stove top. I chose the latter method.
Once cooked, you finally get to throw them into a blender or food processor, along with most of the other ingredients. The olive oil, you drizzle in slowly as you would for mayonnaise. This emulsifies the aubergine dip so it hangs together in a wonderful silky fashion.
I served it with the suggested wholemeal pitta breads toasted with olive oil and cumin seeds. And do you know what? I really liked it. CT and I polished the whole lot off in a few short minutes. Could this aubergine dip be the perfect antidote to memories of a malevolent moussaka?
Other Aubergine Recipes You Might Like
- Aubergine carrot couscous
- Baba ganoush
- Barley bowl with spiced aubergine, chickpeas & tomatoes
- Eggplant tapenade
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this aubergine dip, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more recipes for dips and spreads, follow the link and you’ll find a have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Aubergine Dip. PIN IT.
Aubergine Dip – The Recipe
Aubergine Dip (vegan friendly)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large aubergine (eggplant) cut into medium sized chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro) finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergines for about 5 minutes over a moderate heat.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 large aubergine (eggplant)
- Add the shallot and garlic and fry for a further 5 minutes or until the aubergines are golden and soft.1 shallot, 2 cloves garlic
- Whiz in a blender or food processor along with the lemon juice and paprika until the mixture has turned into a chunky or smooth purée depending on preference.1 tbsp lemon juice, ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- Slowly drizzle in the extra virgin oil whilst continuing to blend at a moderate speed – as if you were making mayonnaise.2 tbsp olive oil
- Spoon into a bowl and mix in the coriander.2 tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro)
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
The Crank Bible Giveaway (3 copies)
Orion is kindly offering three Tin and Thyme readers a copy of the new edition of The Cranks Bible. To be in with a chance of winning, please fill in the Gleam widget below. You will need to leave a comment on this post, answering the question, which then gives you additional chances to enter if you so wish. Gleam will pick a winner at random from the entries received.
If you are commenting anonymously, please give me some way of identifying you as I will be verifying the validity of entries. Any automated entries will be disqualified. This giveaway is only open to those with a UK postal address. Winners will need to respond within 7 days of being contacted. Failure to do this may result in another winner being picked.
Prizes are offered and provided by Orion and Tin and Thyme accepts no responsibility for the acts or defaults of said third party. Tin and Thyme reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.
Closing date is Sunday 28 February 2016
Do take a look at my giveaways page to see if there’s anything else you’d like to enter.
I won a copy of the Cranks Bible as part of a competition prize. There was no requirement to write a positive review and as always all opinions are my own. Thank you for your support of the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.
Karen Howden says
my favourite vegetarian dish is a cheese omelet made from my own chickens eggs
WandaFish says
One of my favourites would have to be sweet potato, spinach and chickpea curry – very tasty and quick to make!
Zoe g says
Caprese pasta – pasta with mozzarella tomato sauce and basil!
Natasha R-M says
Tofu with pasta in a tomato sauce with courgettes, red onions and sweetcorn topped with vegan cheese and herbs
Richard Eldred Hawes says
I really like a vegetarian curry, its not only tasty but enables me to use up all the odds and ends of vegetables in the fridge
Joy Dehany says
I’m a GF *almost* vegan. I can’t bake without butter!
my favourite recipe, is nut roast. I put a grated apple through it to help bind it and give it moisture as it can dry out. I also add grated carrot and a little cumin.
I serve it with roasted kale and red onion and beetroot compote.
Thank you for this, I’ve lost my original Cranks book, I used to like making their Devon applecake, it’s lovely! Incidentally, when making that recipe (which I had to google thanks to losing the book) I now add a teaspoon of finely grated jaffa orange rind and substitute all flours for GF flour.
Choclette says
Glad you’re in the butter for baking camp, it’s a hard one to beat. I do use coconut oil if I’m making something vegan and I’m quite impressed with it. Your nut roast sounds delicious, I do like a good nut roast and your apple addition sounds like a good one. Good luck.
EJ Dunn says
Gratinee of Eggs Basque – Wealth of Med veg baked with cheese and egg
Helen Metcalfe says
Baked stuffed marrow is a favorite and it was the first vegetarian dish I cooked.
Choclette says
My mother used to do a mean stuffed marrow with beans and served with cheese sauce I seem to remember.
Angela Paull says
vegetable lasagne – pasta layered with riddled aubergine, courgette, lots of tomato and oodles of Mozzarella
Chris Fletcher says
It would have to be my veggie mousakka! I love it
Yve Marsh says
vegetarian chili and brown rice with a side of avocado tempura
Jenny Mace says
I used to love the restaurant ‘Cranks’ in the late ’80s. I managed to buy a copy of the Crank’s recipe shop in a Charity Shop a couple of years ago and have enjoyed making many of the recipes. Their wholemeal carrot cake is to die for!!! xxx
Jenny Mace says
I meant late 70s!! (Sadly all the Crank’s Restaurants had closed by the late 80s!!!) xx
Choclette says
Not all of them Jenny. The one at Dartington is still going strong – it opened in the early 70s. I remember because I was one of the first people to go in it.
Joy Dehany says
I remember going to Cranks in London in the late 80’s, what a revelation! Didn’t know vegetarian food could be so varied.
Choclette says
Yes, it was a lot harder then finding good vegetarian food when eating out.
Carol Emmett says
I have an old Cranks paperbook that I picked up in a free bookshop – love the Crecy plate pie!
Choclette says
Oh what’s the Crecy plate pie Carol? Sounds intriguing.
Adrian Bold says
Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Penne Salad with Goat Cheese or Grilled Portobello, Bell Pepper, and Goat Cheese Sandwiches
Rebecca Howells (@PeanutHog) says
I love a good homemade veg and Quorn curry cooked in the slow cooker as it is so easy to do and tastes delicious!
Sheri Darby says
I love my home made vegetarian Lasagne with mushrooms, spinach & Creme fraiche
Jackie in Canada says
My fave is my Quattro Formaggio Lasagna, filled with ricotta, smoked Gouda, mozzarella & parm. Definitely not diet food!
I just recently found your blog & am really enjoying it. I have spent time in Cornwall, including most of one winter a number of years ago, way back when the first Poldark series was on tv. I hope to be able to get back to visit my friend Whitemoor again.
Choclette says
Ooh that was a long time ago Jackie. Not sure winter is the best time to spend in Cornwall so I hope you’ve managed to get some good weather whilst you were here. This winter has been terrible, it’s done nothing but rain. Your lasagna sounds delicious – cheese, cheese and more cheese sounds good to me.
A.E. ADKINS says
Sweet potato & red pepper soup (Sweet potato, onion, potato, red pepper, veg stock, water, salt and pepper – simmer & blitz!)
Judith Hamilton says
Butternut squash, chickpea and spinach curry
jo shrew says
a veg stew i make with everything i can find shoved in it. magic ingredient is proper peanut butter
Choclette says
Ooh, peanut butter in stew, love that idea. I’m assuming you use smooth?
Ruth L says
Tumeric & Cumin roasted cauliflower with a tomato and chickpea side is my favourite at the moment. But I’m going to try this dip tomorrow as I’ve been looking for something to do with an aubergine!
Choclette says
Let me know how you get on Ruth. Your roasted cauliflower sounds delicious too.
Helen Humphries says
Changes ALL the time but recently paneer curry, I like it with okra and have also discovered adding a little brinjal pickle to it really ups its game
Choclette says
Ooh yes, pretty much anything with paneer in it gets the thumbs up from me Helen.
Carly M says
My aunt is vegan and makes some amazing food, I love her shepherdess pie
Angela Williams says
stuffed peppers with blue cheese and mushroom filling
Victoria Prince says
Mine is Avocado and Spinach Pasta 🙂 It makes the most amazing creamy sauce, and tastes so so good. Of course not forgetting it is also full of so many fab nutrients!
Lauren Old says
My favourite vegetarian dish is pasta in a tomato and basil sauce with mozzarella cheese and spinach
Harline says
Veggie pasta bake
Sarah P says
We call it Sri Lankan Veg Curry – basically it’s cauliflower and parsnip cooked in coconut with chilli and lime and then spinach stirred through at the end… delicious!
Choclette says
Oh yes, that does sound good Sarah – love a good curry.
Vicky says
Lentil Pie which we make with a lentil and vegetable filling and a sweet potato topping.
Kate Phillips says
I enjoy a good root vegetable stew on a cold winter’s day with plenty of ginger and garlic to ward off any bugs.
Samantha O'D says
I love Mushroom Risotto, i like to add chilli flakes and grated cheese to it
Miss Tracy Hanson says
I’m quite boring, but have to pick vegetable lasagne or even Quorn lasagne with garlic bread. But anything Italian I can attempt to make vegetarian is good with me. Not sure the family enjoys it though as some are quite “astonishingly” bad lol. 🙂
Choclette says
Haha Tracy, it’s called trial and error 😉
carole n says
I enjoy all flavours of risotto especially with red and green chilli, and mushrooms
Rachel Butterworth says
Vegetable Moneybags (fill pastry parcels filled with seasonal vegetables and vegetarian cheese).
Lyla says
I love cauliflower cheese with maybe a hint of garlic or mustard
Karen Langridge says
I quite like a vegetable lasagne 🙂 thank you for the competition, I could do with a cookbook to guide me! x
Julie Ward says
Stuffed crust Cheese and tomato pizza with loads of garlic and mushrooms
betony bennett says
Deep fried, battered courgette
amy rennocks says
Butternut squash soup (Butternut squash, onion, carrot, potato, veg stock, water, salt and pepper) <3
claire woods says
I love a mushroom risotto with lots of different mushrooms
don erwood says
I like a mushroom and halloumi brioche roll on a Sunday morning when I have plenty of time to wait for the large flat mushroom to roast. The saltiness of the cheese goes fab with it.
Choclette says
That sounds like my sort of food – lovely idea.
Eliz M says
I would love to cook more veggie foos, so the book would be perfect
laura stewart says
5 bean burger with sweet potato chips x
charlotte clavier says
I love Indian food. So maybe Spinach & Chickpea Curry or Vegetable Samosas
Kath says
Oh Choc, you are ace! I am really pleased that your recipe is featured in this book. And you should definitely be strutting your stuff. I am having trouble thinking of my favourite veggie dish as there is lots to choose from but I am partial to a dhal. Comfort food at its spicy best. I must make one, maybe tomorrow.
Choclette says
Thanks so much Kath. I’m doing my best to strut my stuff, but it doesn’t come easy 😉 Dhal is probably what I would have said too – perfect comfort food.
Allan Wilson says
Roasted squash and aubergine
Rachel Craig says
I like cauliflower and cheese sauce. As it is delicious, nutritious and filling.
Judith Allen says
I love hummus – supermarket cheapest to homemade, not met one I don’t like. Yummy with breadsticks and celery, and makes the best sandwich on wholemeal with grated carrot.
Choclette says
I agree Judith, hummus is a bit of a wonder 🙂
Heather Haigh says
It may be dated but I love a good old nut roast – brazil nut and mushroom is my favourite variety.
Choclette says
Oh yes, I adore a good nut roast and brazil nut and mushrooms sounds mighty fine Heather. I made a lentil and brazil nut roast last year which was pretty good too 🙂
Bev B says
Adore Indian vegetarian food. I do a quick aubergine and potato dish with coriander, cumin, turmeric and mustard seeds. It’s thick and comforting- great scooped up with naan. Your dip sounds lovely.
Choclette says
Ooh now I’ve realised I can enjoy aubergine, I might try your dip Bev, it sounds good.
Charlotte Moore says
Vegetarian lasagna! it has to be my all time favourite.
Ruth Harwood says
A tasty Macaroni Cheese made with Brocoli and Aubergine xx
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
It has been a long time since I last had aubergine dip. Gotta make some soon. Yours looks really tasty, Choclette.
Choclette says
Thanks Angie, I can’t believe I liked it as much as I did.
Corina says
I love aubergines – one of my favourite vegetables! I can’t pick my favourite vegetarian dish but one of my favourites is just a simple pasta arrabiata.
Choclette says
Well yes pasta arrabiata is hard to beat Corina 🙂
Natalie Crossan says
Sometimes I prefer a vegetable lasange to a meat one – and I am a meat eater! They’re that good! x
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Congrats on getting your recipe featured! My favourite vegetarian dish is macaroni cheese with garlic bread 😉
Choclette says
Thank you. Oh yes, I’d forgotten about macaroni cheese – wonderful stuff.
Henk Kooiman says
Once a year I make ‘baba ganoush’. I eat some of it, enjoy it and give away the rest, which is most, of it. Another once-in-a-year-recipe is also an aubergine dip. A Russian recipe with hard boiled eggs as one of the main ingredients.
Choclette says
No thanks to baba ganoush Henk, but the Russian recipe sounds interesting.
lynsey Buchanan says
Nothing beats making a big pot of Vegetable soup to heat you up after a cold winters day.
Mark R says
Veggie lasagne made in the summer with lots of home grown vegetables
Jane Willis says
I couldn’t pin it down to one favourite, but a current craze is for chickpea and butternut squash curry.
Phil in the Kitchen says
Love that dip. The Cranks Bible is one of those books that I feel sure I had once upon a time but I can’t find at the moment – there are too many of those. Much as I love an aubergine dip, I must admit that I’m a bit funny about aubergines too due to some slightly odd dishes back in the distant past.
Choclette says
Is this because you have an attic full of books Phil, which are impossible to access? It is one of those books that somehow seem very familiar. Glad to hear it’s not just me whose a bit iffy about aubergines.
melanie stirling says
Homemade quorn lasagne with plenty of tomatoes in and loads of cheese on top.It’s everyones favourite in our house.
Keep Calm and Fanny On says
Changes all the time, but now I’m thinking Homity Pie!
Choclette says
I adore Homity Pie and of course it’s a good old Cranks favourite, so very fitting.
Ashleigh Allan says
I like spinach and ricotta cannelloni – the whole family love it!
Gill says
A vegetarian moussaka – the recipe was torn out of a magazine years ago!
LydiaF1963 says
I will eat just about anything with eggplant. One of my favorites is eggplant mirza from a little Persian restaurant in my home town.
Choclette says
Well I know it’s quite a popular vegetable but this is one of the first dishes I’ve actually liked. Thanks for the tip Lydia, I’ll have a look at mirza and see what what I think.
Maxine G says
I love experimenting with veggie dishes from around the world – my current favourite is a delicately spiced persian rice and lentil dish …mmmm…
Sue C says
As a vegetarian it’s hard to pick my favourite recipe…I’m quite faddy and make something often for a while and then move on! I think Mexican is my favourite at the moment and I make burritos with wraps, Mexican rice, refried beans, salsa, corn, avocado, soured cream and grated cheese! Yummy!
Choclette says
Stop Sue, you’re making me feel incredibly hungry. I love Mexican food too, but I’m also like you and do something a lot, then move on.
shaheen says
Chilli – its so versatile, on jacket potatoes, tortilla, rice, burrito..
the caked crusader says
Since my first taste of baba ghanoush I’ve been a sucker for anything aubergine!
Choclette says
Hmmmm, I seem to be in a minority of one here CC.
Jane Willis says
I wasn’t a fan of aubergine until last weekend when I went to the Waitrose Cookery School and realised I’d been preparing them all wrong – I’d always just charred the skin until it blistered, I didn’t realise you were supposed to blast the poor things until every smoke detector in the street goes off, by which time they are soft, sweet and smoky inside rather then bitter and slimy. I’m a convert!
Choclette says
Haha Jane, glad it’s not just me. Sounds like I needed to do that course too – a long time ago!
laura banks says
mushroom risotto made by the hubby if made by me not as good
olivia Kirby says
I like to make a quick and easy feta pasta – add cooked pasta to cubed feta, cooked peas, chopped olives, lemon, oil, salt, pepper and fresh mint if you have it. It is delicious.
Julie Tift says
Cauliflower & broccoli cheese with a cheddar & stilton sauce and fried leeks on the side. mmmmmm
Helen Thurston says
Vegan Shepherdess Pie made with a mix of lentils, beans, peppers, mushrooms, passata carrots, onions and any other veg that needs using up, usually some garlic or turmeric or other herbs/spices – topped with potato, sweet potato and vegan cheese mash. It’s never the same twice but my family love it.
Kellie@foodtoglow says
Shakshuka – both tomato and green versions – are my favourite. So many ways to enjoy it!
Choclette says
Shakshuka is a favourite here too Kellie. Trouble is, my favourites change like the wind 😉
Kim M says
I do a vegetarian chilli with as many vegetables as I can find – great for using up odds and ends x
Iris W says
I love a mushroom risotto with lots of different mushrooms or pasta alla chinque pi
Paula Readings says
This is a recipe i use for my son when we have Spaghetti Bolognese, it is Pappardelle with Mushrooms.
Megan Kinsey says
I love making shakshuka. It’s basically made from tomatoes, herbs and spices, and then you crack some eggs on top while it’s still cooking in a skillet and it looks lovely. Definitely recommend it!
Margaret Clarkson says
I like cauliflower pie – fill wholemeal pastry with cooked cauliflower, home made tomato sauce and lots of cheese.
Michaela Smith says
I find it very hard as a vegetarian to pick a favourite dish as I have sooo many 🙂 but as I have to pick one I think it has to my Mums vegetable moussaka 🙂 it’s delicious 🙂
Tracey Peach says
Vegetable Lasagne, I can’t tell you what the recipe is because it varies every time I make it depending on what I have in the fridge at the time that needs using up 🙂
Tracy Nixon says
I love my homemade nut loaf which I make with lentils, chestnut mushrooms and cheese!