Babaghanoush

Burnt or charred Eggplant is a popular method of cooking eggplant all over the Middle East and In the Mediterranean region. It’s used in salads, stews, soups and dip. Charring eggplant then scooping the tender flesh without the burnt parts has a delicious Smokey softness, lends very well to the dishes it’s served with. Specially in Baba Ganoush.

This dish can be made with or without tahini. I prefer it with tahini, I feel it adds to the texture and you don’t have to use extra olive oil. It’s Important not to purée the eggplant, but mash it gently with a fork. Then fold in the other ingredients. Pureeing results in runny dip.

Here’s the recipe how I make it.

Before I share the recipe let me give you a little trick to pick a perfect eggplant.

• Look for smaller sized eggplant but heavy for their size.
• the eggplant should be smooth, have shiny skin and bright green tops.
• To tell if it’s ripe, press it gently if it leaves a slight dent it’s ripe. Don’t pick hard eggplant.
• smaller eggplants have fewer seeds and not as bitter.

**For gas stove method start my lining your burner with a foil to prevent drips, leaving the flame part out, place the eggplant and grill, rotating frequently. I found this method a bit messy, but it did produce delicious smokey eggplant pulp.

Makes a generous cup of Smokey eggplant dip

Recipe adapted from Ottolenghi “Jerusalem”

Ingredients

• 2 globe eggplants
• 3 cloves garlic about 1 heaped teaspoon, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for garnish
• 2 tablespoons organic tahini sesame paste
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon sumac, optional
• 1 teaspoon Aleppo or cayenne pepper, optional
• pomegrante arils/ sumac/ sesame seeds/ mint leaves for garnish

Directions

• Pierce the eggplant in a few places carefully. Place it on a baking pan lined with foil directly under a broiler on high heat or open a flame like a barbecue or gas stove. **For gas stove method see above. I would avoid the latter as it makes a lot of mess, learnt it the hard way, but it does produce delicious smoky eggplant and it’s quick.
• Char the eggplant all over rotating frequently till it’s completly burned. Yes this is essential to build the Smokey flavor and soft texture.
• Now carefully cut or peel the burnt part of the eggplant and scoop out all the pulp into a bowl avoiding the charred bits.
• discard the skin.
• with a fork break down the large pieces but don’t make it into a smooth paste you need some texture.
• In the meanwhile, in the bowl of a small food processor add the garlic and lemon juice blend till the garlic is puréed into a smooth paste. Add the tahini and mix well. Pout this over the eggplant along with olive oil, salt, Aleppo pepper and black pepper.
• Let it sit and marinate for at least 30 minutes to a hour.
• Serve garnished with pomegranate, herbs and sumac.