Whenever pita bread is puffing up in my oven, a bowl of baba ghanoush glazed with olive oil is surely waiting nearby. In this classic Middle Eastern appetizer, roasted eggplants are mashed and flavored with tahini, a sesame seed paste equally useful in Asian cookery, particularly in Japanese Cuisine, where it can be used in savory dips and sauces.

Long considered the other Middle Eastern dip, baba ghanoush unfairly takes a backseat to hummus as the accompaniment of choice to pita bread wedges. I have a slight preference for the texture of the roasted eggplants in baba ghanoush. Whereas the chickpeas in hummus have to be pureed, using a fork instead of a bladed machine to tease the baba ghanoush into a light puff of beige makes all the difference.

View Baba Ghanoush - Eggplant and Tahini Dip recipe »

Ginataan is a Filipino cooking technique where ingredients such as vegetables, seafood, or fruits are simmered in coconut milk. It can be sweet or savory depending on the ingredients — the term ginataan by itself refers to a warm dessert soup traditionally served in the Philippines as merienda, mid-afternoon snacks that help make the long wait between lunch and dinner more tolerable.

Eggplants and green beans make up the gulay or vegetable portion of this recipe. It can also include squash (kalabasa), bitter melon (ampalaya), and okra, but this recipe calls for the vegetables that cook quickest. This version is done in about 15 minutes after all the prepping is done.

This green and purple ginataan dish is exactly how I remember it prepared in our household. Incidentally, that same juxtapose of colors is the reason I wouldn’t eat it as a child. It reminded me of none other than Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker. I found his wide maniacal grin disturbing, but even worse, he also reminded me of clowns.

View Ginataang Gulay - Vegetables Simmered in Coconut Milk recipe »

This Japanese treatment for eggplants turns the spongy fruit — I thought it was a vegetable — into creamy morsels that lend itself well to the simplest of seasonings. Serving as its own cooking vessel, the purple berries are grilled until charred while steaming from the inside. The whole eggplants will expand and sputter as it releases steam through its pricked skin. It’s done just as it collapses into a wrinkled mass looking black as charcoal on the outside but smooth as custard on the inside.

Slice the peeled eggplants so that it resembles sashimi or eel from 10 feet away to alleviate boredom and ensue hilarity. Depending on who’s around, reactions can range from delight to disgust, culminating in either disappointment or sighs of relief once revealed that it’s just frickin’ eggplant. I know I’d think twice about having raw fish from someone’s apartment kitchen.

View Grilled Eggplants, Japanese-Style (Yakinasu) recipe »

Chicago is home to several vibrant Latino neighborhoods, some predominantly of Mexican heritage. It follows that there is hardly any shortage of sources for Mexican ingredients. There are even several tortillerias open to the public that produce freshly made tortillas by the truckload and buying from these factories is easily the best option — the turnover will be high and the tortillas will be at their freshest. Since tortillas stale quickly, most store-bought varieties are pumped full of preservatives and could have been on the shelf for weeks.

It’s one thing to cook labor-intensive Mexican dishes in a city home to excellent Mexican restaurants — the options range from humble street food and taquerias to fine-dining establishments with elaborate tasting menus. New heights of obsessiveness are reached when one also makes the simple but somewhat finicky tortillas at home.

View Homemade Corn Tortillas using Masa Harina recipe »

Kinilaw (pronounced ki-ni-lao) involves fresh ingredients doused with an acidic component such as vinegar or citrus juice. Also known as kilawin, it is the Filipino version of ceviche, most commonly used to prepare freshly caught seafood. Kinilaw can also feature fruits, vegetables, and half-cooked meats. Additional ingredients include aromatics such as ginger, onions, and chiles. Coconut milk may also be used to soften the acidity and bring all of the flavors together.

A bit of prep work is required to reduce the banana heart acerbity, a weird feeling in the mouth that Filipinos refer to as pakla. The chopped banana hearts are washed in several changes of lightly salted water to draw out the bitterness and make it more palatable.

This preparation balances the banana heart bitterness, lime juice acidity, and coconut milk richness. Crisp and slightly squeaky, the texture of fresh banana hearts is highlighted.

View Banana Hearts Kinilaw - Puso ng Saging recipe »