My son Chris loves to cook, which makes me (and his Dad) very happy. It is a joy to watch him dive into all kinds of new techniques and methods of cooking. He is never one to shy away from recipes that may seem complicated or that may take a long time to prepare. He once dry aged some beef (which takes quite a bit of time) and proceeded to cook the whole family an absolutely phenomenal meal. Currently he is making a batch of pickles in a crock that is sitting in our porch room. So it came as no surprise when he suggested we try Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Dip.)
Baba Ghanoush is a recipe I had never heard of by name before, actually had no idea what it was. So Chris pulled up a video and we watched it; then he looked up the meaning of Baba Ghanoush, and it translates to, “spoiled or pampered father.”
We tried both the grill and oven method of roasting the eggplant and either way works just fine. We made the recipe a few times tweaking ingredients and methods until we came up with the recipe below.
You can use either a food processor or a fork to blend the eggplant dip together. A food processor is going to give you a much creamier dip, using a fork works just as well and gives you a dip with more texture.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 tbsp olive oil divided between the eggplant and garlic
- 2 lbs eggplant roasted (see instruction group below)
- 5 cloves garlic roasted (see instruction below)
- 1 sheet aluminum foil
- 3 tbsp tahini (you can omit the tahini for a nut free version)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika smoked or regular
- 1 tbsp olive oil for the top of the finished dip
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh, chopped
Ingredients
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- To roast the garlic take a sheet of aluminum foil and place cloves in the foil, add 2 tsp olive oil and rub over the cloves. Fold foil over the garlic to cover completely. Roast the garlic with the eggplant
- Preheat the oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
- Score the eggplant 3-4 times and rub the eggplant with olive oil
- Turn eggplant about every 10 minutes until roasted on all sides
- Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Eggplant is finished when it is very tender to the touch
- Preheat the grill using a low/med setting for the heat. You want the grill hot but not scorchingly hot, about 400º
- To roast the garlic take a sheet of aluminum foil and place cloves in the foil, add 2 tsp olive oil and rub over the cloves. Fold foil over the garlic to cover completely. Roast the garlic with the eggplant
- Rub eggplant with olive oil and score 3-4 times
- Place eggplants directly on the grates, turning every 10 minutes until the eggplant is charred on all sides
- In all, eggplants take about 30 minutes
- Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt and cumin together in a small bowl and let sit to allow the flavors to meld together
- Peel the skin off the eggplants and remove the seeds. You can leave a bit of the skin for a smokey flavor if you like, and cut into chunks
- So you can either use a food processor or a fork to blend the ingredients together. If using a fork, place eggplant and garlic in a mixing bowl and push down with a fork to mash the ingredients. If using a food processor, place eggplant and pulse a couple of times, add the garlic to the food processor, pulse a couple of more times
- If using a fork, place the tahini mix in the bowl and mix together vigorously
- For the food processor add the tahini, lemon juice, salt and cumin mix. Pulse until mixture is the consistency you like. Place dip in a storage container or into the serving dish of your choice
- Chill before serving. This recipe definitely tastes better the next day if you can wait!
- Before serving, drizzle olive oil over the top and then sprinkle paprika and parsley over the top. Serve with fresh cut vegetables or gluten free crackers
This Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Dip) recipe is dairy free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian.
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