Dinner tonight

[Nu Kua]

Tonight we'll go Persian.
I'm making Dolmeh-yeh gojeh farangi, hummus, maybe some baba, and this chopped tomato-cucumber-red onion topping, and flat bread.

Washing it down with some sort of rich red wine. (or iced tea)

[Fut004]

I'd vote for the Wine.

I've never heard of "Dolmeh-yeh gojeh farangi" or "baba".
Wanna describe it for me?

[Nu Kua]

Basically, Dolmeh-yeh gojeh farangi is a fancy (well, Persian) way of saying stuffed tomatoes. Traditionally ground lamb is used in place of beef, but I couldn't find any ground lamb at the butchers this morning, so I am using ground beef today.
You take up and cook some onions along with the ground meat; then add some water, seasonings, and tomato paste, and then cook it down.
Then you cook up some parsley, mint, spring onions, fresh garlic, tarragon- whatever you like, in some butter till wilted; then in the same pot you cook up some rice.
When the rice is done, mix all of this together, stuff your tomatoes, put the tops back on, and bake in a low oven for about half an hour.

Baba Ganoush is a dip made with the insides of roasted eggplant, which is then mixed with sesame tahini (like peanut butter but made with sesame seeds), lots of fresh minced garlic, pine nuts, parsley, and whatever seasonings you like- oh and lemon juice. You blend it till smooth.
My eggplant is roasting now.

I might make the flatbread too; it depends on how rest of the day goes.