Ever thought about taking a favorite recipe and substituting all of the cooked items for raw ones?

Here’s an example: Babaganoush.

Usually you roast an eggplant or some zucchini and then mash with olive oil and spices. Recently, I used raw zucchini instead of roasted and simply processed it in a Cuisinart. After adding the olive oil and other ingredients the rawness was indiscernible, because the olive oil softened the zucchini to the right consistency.

This raw version saved me about an hour. I am sure there are lots of other favorite recipes where this substituting is possible….I’m thinking Apple Crisp, but that will have to wait for another blog.

Raw Babaganoush (Makes about 2 cups)

3 zucchini

2 cloves garlic (remove green core if you don’t want bad breath)
1 bunch basil
3 sprigs thyme
3 green onions, white part and 1 inch of green part
4 T extra virgin olive oil
Zest of one orange
Juice of half a lemon
16 olives (optional, but they make dish richer)
Sea Salt to taste
Red chile flakes to taste (optional)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Serve with raw crackers or stuffed in a celery stick or scooped out tomato.

Recipe extension - Soup!: Put babaganoush in a blender with a little vegetable juice or nut mylk and a tablespoon of miso, and you’ll have soup instead of a dip.