Baba Ghanoush
A roasted eggplant dip or spread. Delicious served with pita or vegetables, alongside hummus or on it’s own!
Prep Time: approx. 5 Minutes.
Cook Time: approx. 40 Minutes.
Makes 1 1/2 cups ( 12 servings).
1 eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
3. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil.
Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.
My kids love this dip, as do Alex and I. I usually skip the sesame seeds if I don’t have any in the house. Tahini can be found in the “natural foods” section of your grocery store. You can alter the lemon juice and garlic to taste.
Comment by Plain Jane
September 11, 2006 @ 7:20 am
Do eggplants have seeds? If so, do you take them out before you grind it up? Can you tell I have never cooked an eggplant?
Comment by admin
September 11, 2006 @ 8:59 am
They do have seeds and no, I don’t remove them before I roast them or grind the eggplant up. I don’t even notice them in the finished dip. I used to be afraid to cook eggplant. When I was a teen I worked for a few years in an Italian restaurant and the owner showed me how to make eggplant parmigiana. After that I started cooking it for family and people started requesting it at different family functions. I made this dip for a family party in August and it was a huge hit. No one even knew it was eggplant, they thought it was hummus, which I also made and was sitting in a dish next to the baba ghanoush.
If you have a grill eggplant is very good sliced, brushed with oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper before you throw it on the grill, cooking it until soft.