Cut the ends off the eggplants and slice each lengthwise into four pieces. Place skin side down on the broiler pan and drizzle with half the avocado oil. Place the pan in the oven and broil for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and flip the eggplant slices. Drizzle with the remaining avocado oil. Return to the oven and broil another 15 minutes. The eggplant skins should start to blister. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Once cool enough to handle, cut the roasted eggplant into bite size pieces and drain the excess liquid by letting them sit in a mesh strainer.

Transfer strained eggplant to a food processor and add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and salt. Blend until smooth. Scoop out into a bowl, top with parsley and serve.

Stir to coat the meat with the spices and let the spices toast for 2 minutes or so. Add the stock and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Allow the meat to simmer for about 10 minutes until the stock is mostly reduced – the meat should be saucy but not soupy. Taste the meat and add more salt if needed – it should taste excellent. Stir in the pine nuts and turn the heat off.

To serve, make a bed of hummus and spoon the spiced ground meat with pine nuts right in the center. Add toppings if you’d like. Serve with pita and anything else you’d like for dipping. Enjoy!

NOTE: This recipe was inspired by the HUMMUS MEAT at 12 Chairs Cafe in Brooklyn, which I love and adore and can’t wait to go back to.

This can also be made with storebought tahini sauce, so easy and yummy!

Note: To maximize my food processor time, I make the lemon tahini dressing first, then scoop it into a jar and add the garbanzos/other ingredients right in the food processor. Then I’m left with extra dressing and hummus but only have to wash the food processor once!

Slowly add the olive oil to the food processor while blending until a paste forms. Blend until the desired consistency is reached.

Scoop the tapenade out of the food processor and serve in a bowl with crackers or as part of a larger charcuterie board.

Serve with assorted veggies and/or rye bread chunks.

Notes:
• Serve with celery sticks, carrot sticks, grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and with both red and green bell peppers.
• If filling a hollowed out loaf of rye bread, you may need to double or triple the recipe depending on the size of the bread.

Stir in pimentos. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until 30 minutes prior to serving.

Note: Mirin is sweetened sake and is found in the Asian section of fine grocery stores. It adds a little bit of sweetness.

Peel and dice the beets. Place in a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes. Place the walnuts on another baking sheet and add them to the oven for the last 3–5 minutes of this time, watching closely to make sure they don’t burn.

Remove beets and walnuts from the oven and put the chopped beets into a food processor or high-speed blender with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pulse until coarse.

Add the roasted walnuts, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon juice and salt and blend until well combined. I prefer to leave a bit of texture to the dip rather than blending smooth.

Transfer the dip to a bowl and top with a drizzle of olive oil and some whole walnuts, if desired. Goes great with crackers, veggies and pita. Or slather this dip on some sliced cucumber for a beautiful, simple appetizer.

Add mango last (you don’t want to stir this around too much so it goes mushy). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Add all ingredients and blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust for salt, lime, and cayenne flavors to taste if you like.