I have limited experience with eggplant and my brother and cousin still give me a hard time about these eggplant and blue cheese paninis I made for dinner one night in college. They were less than stellar. After that experience, I pretty much gave up on eggplant for a while, but I’m no quitter!! 😉 I bought an eggplant with intentions to roast it….but then I got sidetracked by my love for tahini and decided to make baba ganoush! Baba ganoush is a middle eastern dip made from roasted eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon, and different seasonings (depending on what recipe you use). I found a very classic recipe with great reviews and decided to start there. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except that I forgot to remove the skin before I pureed the eggplant. I’m sure it might have been tastier/smoother without the skin, but it was still delicious!
Baba Ganoush
1 medium or 3/4 of a large eggplant
1 large clove garlic, grated or finely minced
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp tahini
sea salt
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
olive oil (for roasting)
1. Preheat oven to high broil and position a rack at the top of the oven.
2. Slice your eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds and sprinkle with sea salt and place in a colander in the sink to drain any excess liquid. After 10 minutes, rinse slightly and then pat dry between two towels.
3. Arrange on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Roast for 5-10 minutes, turning once or twice, until the eggplant is softened and golden brown. Remove from pan, stack and wrap the rounds in foil to lock in moisture – wait 5 minutes.
4. Peel away most of the skin of the eggplant (a little is OK) and add flesh to a food processor. It should be soft and tender and the skin should come off easy.
5. Add lemon juice, garlic, tahini, a pinch of salt and mix until creamy. Add cilantro and pulse to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. I added a bit more tahini and another pinch of salt.
Serve with pita and/or pita chips and veggies. Will keep covered in the fridge for several days.
*from Minimalist Baker
