Baba Ganoush
Luxuriously creamy, smoky, nutty, lemony, and savory, Baba Ganoush has it all! Enjoy with pita bread or your favorite crunchy veggies.
Ingredients
- 3 medium Italian eggplants (about 2 pounds)
- 3 cloves garlic , *skins on
- 1/4 cup tahini
- Homemade Tahini Recipe
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley , plus extra for garnish
- pinch of smoked paprika
- warmed pita wedges, cucumber slices, bell pepper strips, carrot sticks, snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower florets, etc. , for serving
Instructions
- Place the oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the eggplant from sticking. Poke the eggplants all over with the tines of a fork, slice the eggplants in half lengthwise, lightly brush the eggplant halves with olive oil, and place each half on the parchment paper with the cut side down. Place the garlic (with skin on) next to the eggplants. The garlic will be done before the eggplant; remove as soon as the skins are browned, 15-20 minutes, and remove/discard their skins. Continue to roast the eggplants until they are extremely tender, another 20-30 minutes (depending on size of eggplant). Remove the eggplant from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then turn the halves over and use a spoon to scrape all of the flesh out (discard the skins). Place the flesh in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl for about 20 minutes so that the excess water in the eggplant can drain. This step is critical for avoiding a sopping wet dip. You can also press down a bit on the flesh to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the liquid.
- Place the eggplant, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and salt in a food processor and process until fairly smooth but not completely pureed, scraping the mixture down from the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt as desired. Continue to process until the mixture is smooth or just the slightest bit chunky, however you prefer (traditionally baba ganoush is not completely smooth, it has a bit of texture). Stir in the chopped parsley.*A note about salt: Eggplant is naturally bitter and adding a generous amount of salt not only improves the flavor of the dip but helps curb the bitterness of the eggplant.
- Transfer the baba ganoush into a serving bowl. With the back of a spoon, make a swirl in the top of the baba ganoush, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika and parsley. Serve immediately with toasted pita wedges, flatbread, or your favorite crunchy vegetables.
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