BABA GANOUSH!

This super creamy and delicious Levantine delight is the perfect dip for pita chips or raw veggies. Like most of the dips and sauces I post about, you can use this for just about anything, on sandwiches, on salads, on top of roasted vegetables etc. It’s so easy and full of flavor. It makes a great sidekick to hummus and tapenade on an appetizer platter. There are many ways to cook an eggplant and tradionally, you would grill it whole to get a smoky flavor, but I wanted it faster so I went with the broiler, which provides the smoky flavor in half the time. Baba Ganoush is one of the silliest named foods ever in my opinion, hence the exclamation mark. Legend has it that the dish was invented at some point by a member of the royal harem, probably for the sultan, and translates in Arabic to ‘pampered daddy’. So go ahead, whip some up, pamper yo’self.

Baba Ganoush!

makes about 1 to 2 cups

1 eggplant

3 tbs olive oil divided

1/3 cup tahini

juice from 1 lemon

4 cloves garlic

dash of salt

2 tsp parsley divided

a pinch of coriander

Set your oven to broil. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch slices. (I personally love the peel, so you can leave it on if you want, it just isn’t as traditional and the peel gets pretty crispy, so it’s a texture call on your part.) Generously grease a large baking pan with 1 tbs olive oil, and lay the slices evenly, rubbing the second tablespoon of olive oil on top of the slices. Pop it under the broiler for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip the slices and put them back in for another ten. Keep an eye to make sure they don’t burn, mine got nice and golden on top. If they look like they are too dry you can rub a little more oil on them. They should become nice and mushy, as eggplant tends to liquify the longer it cooks. Pull them out and allow to cool. Then add the eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic, and salt to a food processor and blend away. Once it looks nice and smooth, pour into a small bowl.

Garnish with the parsley, and the last tablespoon of olive oil. Other options include paprika, cayenne, (shown) cumin, mint, black pepper, (as shown) or pie nuts. I ate it with some root vegetable chips.