As the name of the post suggests, this "Roasted Eggplant Dip" is known as "Baba Ganoush" in Arabic. Similar to hummus, this roasted eggplant dip is a perfect blend of smokey eggplant, freshly squeezed lemon juice, plenty of garlic, tahini, and olive oil.
Baba Ganoush is quite popular not only in the Middle
You will notice that this dish is spelled in many different ways. This frequently happens when Arabic words are spelled out with English letters.
Some of the spelling variations include "baba ghanoush," "
The word "baba" means "father" in Arabic. "Ganoush" on the other hand, means pampered. So I supposed if you want to pamper your father, make him some baba ganoush.
How to make this recipe
Slice large eggplant in half. Sprinkle with ¼ tsp. salt. Place in a colander, flesh-side down and allow the eggplant to sweat for approximately 30 minutes. Rinse the salt off, they dry off with paper towels.
Preheat oven to 450 Degrees F.
Brush ½ teaspoon of olive onto a foil-lined pan. Place eggplant flesh-side down on the pan. Add unpeeled garlic cloves. Pour 1 teaspoon olive oil over them.
Place pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, remove the garlic, and flip the eggplant over to the other side and cook an additional 15 minutes, or until slightly charred.
When cool enough to handle, scrape the eggplant flesh away from the skin using a large spoon. Drain in a colander for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, add the remaining salt, sesame seed oil, peeled and crushed garlic, tahini paste, lemon juice, and cumin (if using) to a food processor.
Add eggplant flesh to the food processor, along with the other ingredients. Pulse a few times, to mix. Do not over-mix, baba ghanoush should have a chunky consistency.
Plate the Baba Ghanoush and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Before serving, drizzle with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Garnish with any of the following: chopped parsley, paprika/cayenne pepper, and toasted pine nuts.
Recipe FAQ's and Expert Tips
When I think of the word "dip" I automatically think "unhealthy." Americans, myself included, are used to eating dips full of highly processed ingredients and fat.
Having the above in mind, this Roasted Eggplant Dip recipe wins by a mile when it comes to nutrition. For one thing, this dip is relatively low in carbs, yet high in fiber.
Roasted Eggplant Dip is made with healthy, all-natural ingredients like eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini. As a result, you can indulge guilt-free.
The main ingredient in any Roasted Eggplant Dip is roasted or charred eggplant. Some of the other ingredients found in baba ganoush include garlic, tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.
Some recipes call for cumin, although as mentioned in other posts, I don't particularly like cumin, so I usually leave it out.
Roasted Eggplant Dip is frequently garnished with parsley and olive oil. Other garnish ideas include roasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, and paprika.
Salting the eggplant flesh allows it to sweat, and helps to extract the bitter juices. This should be done prior to cooking the eggplant.
- Make sure to use quick pulses when mixing the dip in a food processor. You want the dip to maintain some chunkiness instead of being too creamy.
- Serve this delicious dip with pita chips, or an assortment of cut-up vegetables.
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Baba Ghanoush
Ingredients
- 1 lb. large eggplant
- 1 tsp. salt (divided)
- 1-½ T. olive oil (divided)
- 1 T. sesame seed oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 T. tahini paste
- 2 T. lemon juice
- ½ tsp. cumin (optional)
- 1 T. chopped parsley
- 1. T. toasted pine nuts
- ½ tsp. cayenne pepper or paprika
Instructions
- Slice large eggplant in half. Sprinkle with ¼ tsp. salt. Place in a colander, flesh-side down and allow eggplant to sweat out the bitter juices for approximately 30 minutes. Rinse the salt off, they dry off with paper towels.
- Preheat oven to 450 Degrees F.
- Smear ½ teaspoon of olive on a foil-lined pan. Place eggplant flesh-side down on the pan. Add unpeeled garlic cloves. Pour 1 teaspoon olive oil over them.
- Place pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, remove the garlic, and flip the eggplant over to the other side and cook an additional 15 minutes, or until slightly charred.
- When cool enough to handle, scrape the eggplant flesh away from the skin using a large spoon. Drain in a colander for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the remaining salt, sesame seed oil, peeled and crushed garlic, tahini paste, lemon juice, and cumin (if using) to a food processor.
- Add eggplant flesh to the food processor, along with the other ingredients. Pulse a few times, to mix. Do not over-mix, baba ghanoush should have a chunky consistency.
- Plate the baba ghanoush and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Before serving, drizzle with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Garnish with any of the following: chopped parsley, paprika/cayenne pepper, and toasted pine nuts.
Notes
- Make sure to use quick pulses when mixing the dip in a food processor. You want the dip to maintain some chunkiness instead of being too creamy.
- Serve this delicious dip with pita chips, or an assortment of cut-up vegetables.
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