Baba Ghanouj- RELOADED
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
Yield: 1.5 cups
Whether you spell it baba ghanoush, baba ganoush, or Baba Ghanouj, this traditional dip of Levant, is quite possibly the best thing you can do (culinary) with an eggplant. The smoke is what makes it. Photo by Lynne Calamia
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- 2 large eggplants (2 1/2 pounds total)
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup packed parsley leaves
Specialized Hardware
Charcoal grill
Food processor
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
Yield: 1.5 cups
Procedure
- Prepare a charcoal grill for direct heat.
- Pierce some holes in the skin of the eggplants with a fork. (Skip this step and odds are good your eggplant will explode in a very messy way.)
- Place eggplants directly on hot coals and turn with tongs every 1-2 minutes, until skin is charred and flesh is very soft, 8-10 minutes. Remove form the coals and carefully wrap each eggplant tightly in plastic wrap. Set aside to cool for 1 hour.
- Without removing the plastic, cut the stem end off of the eggplants and squeeze the flesh out like toothpaste into a colander placed in your sink. Pick out any larger pieces of charred skin (smaller bits are ok), and drain for 30 minutes.
- Transfer the flesh into a food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt, and pepper, and process 10-15 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the parsley and pulse a few times to combine.
- Serve room temp with pita chips or refrigerate up to 3 days.
Note: If you don't have a grill, the oven will do, but you'll miss that smoky sweetness that puts this dip over the edge. Heat oven to 375 F and place the pierced eggplants on an aluminum foil lined sheet pan. Roast for 1 hour, or until the flesh is very soft and the body begins to collapse. Continue with the rest of the procedure above.
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