My CSA share came with eggplant this week. My mind went immediately to baba ghannouj, which is sort of like hummus with eggplant substituted for the chickpeas. The eggplant is grilled or baked before pureeing it to give it a smoky flavor. I have never worked with eggplant before, so I used Eating Well’s recipe as a base for my baba ghannouj.
Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 2 cloves of garlic (unpeeled)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus zest from the lemon
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- Olive oil, as needed
- Pine nuts, optional
Preheat a grill to high. Using a fork, prick eggplant all over. This allows extra moisture to escape so that the eggplant doesn’t explode when heated.
Grill the eggplants for 10 to 12 minutes or until charred and tender, turning occasionally.
Thread the garlic cloves onto a skewer and grill for 6 to 8 minutes.
Transfer the eggplant and garlic to a cutting board to cool. Once cool, peel the eggplant and garlic. Roughly chop both and transfer to a food processor. Add the lemon juice, tahini and salt.
Process until roughly chopped. While processing, add a thin stream of olive oil until the mixture is smooth.
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| “smooth” is up for debate |
Add to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Top with toasted pine nuts, if desired.
I don’t know if this is the traditional way to make baba ghannouj, but it was delicious so I’ll call it a win. I used 2 large cloves of garlic, so the baba ghannouj had a bit of spicy aftertaste due to so much raw garlic. Yum.
Serve baba ghannouj with toasted pita, cucumber slices, tomatoes, or any other type of vegetable that you can use to scoop the baba ghannouj. Enjoy!
Baba Ghannouj
Cuisine: Appetizer, Dip, Vegetarian
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 2 cloves of garlic (unpeeled)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus zest from the lemon
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- Olive oil, as needed
- Pine nuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to high. Using a fork, prick eggplant all over. This allows extra moisture to escape so that the eggplant doesn’t explode when heated.
- Grill the eggplants for 10 to 12 minutes or until charred and tender, turning occasionally.
- Thread the garlic cloves onto a skewer and grill for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Transfer the eggplant and garlic to a cutting board to cool. Once cool, peel the eggplant and garlic. Roughly chop both and transfer to a food processor. Add the lemon juice, tahini and salt.
- Process until roughly chopped. While processing, add a thin stream of olive oil until the mixture is smooth.
- Add to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Top with toasted pine nuts, if desired.
Wow! I thought this would be hard to make. I never thought of making it with eggplant. I have some vegatarian relatives that would love this. I bookmarked it for later. It would make a great Lenten meal. Thanks for sharing.
This looks so easy! Never would have thought!
Love Baba Ghannouj. CSA is such a good idea. Much to my amazement I discovered right around the corner from me here in The Bronx. Too late for this year but I am excited for next year.
Baba Ganoush is one of my very favorite appetizers! My hubby isn’t a fan, but I could fill a swimming pool with it and DIVE right in!
Something new for me over here in Malaysia but with eggplant, one of the fav at home, how to resist this recipe of yours.
WOW… i never knew the name of this! Been making this for years, not sure where the recipe came from, i just call it eggplant dip!
I love babagnoush! And you make it sound so easy! Definitely going to use this recipe the next time I purchase some aubergine!
I can’t believe that I’ve never had baba ghannouj, looking at the ingredients, I would love it!