Feta Cheese Spread

1 cup feta cheese
8 oz. cream cheese (Philadelphia style)
1/2 teaspoon garlic puree
2 teaspoons fresh dill, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh sweet basil, finely chopped
2 teaspoons green onion tops, finely chopped
1/4 cup ground walnuts
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper

In a large bowl mash the Feta cheese.  Add the cream cheese and blend well together.  Add the garlic, dill, basil and green onion tops and gently stir until well mixed.  Shape into a ball.  Combine the walnuts and black pepper.  Roll the cheese ball in the walnuts and then refrigerate for 2 hours.  Serve with small crackers.

Borani Mast-e-Bademjan

1 eggplant, large
1 bulb garlic, large
2 1/2 cups yogurt
salt, black pepper


Preheat the oven to 400F.
Wash the eggplant well and pat dry with a paper towel.  Place it on a cookie sheet and prick it all over with a fork (This will prevent the eggplant from exploding in the oven.).
Bake the eggplant in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes or until very tender. (To check if the eggplant is cooked, pinch the neck.  If the neck is soft, the eggplant is cooked.)  Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Peel the eggplant so that only the pulp remains.  Mash and chop the pulp.  Put into a large bowl.
Peel the cloves of garlic, sprinkle with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pound it until it forms a paste.
Add the garlic and yogurt to the eggplant and mix will.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Sear Torshe (Pickled Garlic)

5 bulbs garlic

brown vinegar

Clean the excessive dried skins from the outside of the bulbs being careful to keep the bulbs whole.  Carefully remove the roots with a sharp knife.  Wash and drain the garlic. 

Tightly pack a pint jar with the whole bulbs of garlic.  One bulb can be broken up and used to fill in empty spaces.  Fill the jar with the vinegar and cover.  Label the jar with the date and set it aside to pickle.  It will be ready to eat in one year. 

 

NOTE:  For a special treat let a jar sit unopened for 2 or 3 years.