Overview
Sydney foodies, we're spoilt for choice at every turn. New top-notch eateries are cropping up faster than ever before. If you're struggling to keep up — and who isn't? — never fear Taste of Sydney 2016 is the four-day foodie festival to get to up to speed on the cream of the culinary crop.
Setting up residence in Centennial Park from March 10 to 13, Taste of Sydney in partnership with Electrolux is all about bringing diners and chefs together. Ticketholders will be treated with nosh from some of Sydney's top restaurants, including Middle Eastern street food from the crew at Glebe's Thievery, Porteno's famously hearty fare, Biota Dining's sustainable modern Australian dishes, nel.'s fine dining dishes, plus fire-cooked noms from Firedoor. Also joining the deliciousness will be Kitchen by Mike, MoVida, Sake, and the newly opened Kensington Street Social, among others.
But we can't wait until then. We annoyed the Thievery team to give us a recipe, NOW. NOOOOOOW. So they relented and told us how make their mouthwatering baba ghanoush with sheep's milk yogurt, pinenuts and burnt butter. You can make it too!
Thievery's Baba Ghanoush with Sheep's Milk Yogurt, Pinenuts and Burnt Butter
2 eggplants
25g tahini
Juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic
25g olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
For pinenut burnt butter
75g pinenuts
120g unsalted butter
For sheep's milk yoghurt dressing
100g sheep's milk yoghurt
¼ clove of garlic
15ml extra virgin olive oil
Chervil leaves, to garnish
Lebanese bread
Method
Prick the eggplants with a fork all over. Over an open flame, using tongs, grill the eggplant whole under tender and soft. Juices should bubble and start to flow.
Alternatively, roast in oven at 190 degrees until tender and soft.
Cut eggplants in half, length ways, and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Allow to cool. Add remaining ingredients to the eggplant flesh in the bowl. Using a whisk, gently combine all the ingredients together, keeping the texture thick to avoid turning the eggplant into a paste. Season to taste.
On medium heat, melt unsalted butter in a saucepan until butter starts to turn an amber colour with a nutty smell. Just before beurre noisette (brown butter) add the pinenuts, tossing until noisette stage is achieved. Remove from heat. Set aside and keep warm so that butter does not solidify, allowing the pinenuts to infuse the flavour.
Finely grate ¼ clove of garlic. Add sheep's milk yoghurt and olive oil, combining all ingredients together in a bowl. Season to taste.
Place baba ghanoush in a serving bowl. Dollop sheep's milk yoghurt dressing around the baba ghanoush. Using a spoon, mix the pinenut burnt butter and spoon over the top. Garnish with chervil leaves and serve with warm Lebanese bread.