Baba Ganoush

Here in Turkey we have our own version of this, which we call simply eggplant salad. It is made pretty much the same way, minus the tahini. But it is of course the tahini that makes all the difference.

One of the biggest food feasts that I have ever had the joy of indulging in was a 10 day trip to Jordan. This was not meant to be a pig-out trip, we (myself and a group of graphic designers from across the world) had been gathered there by a wonderful man named Arafat Al Naim to give a series of seminars to junior and senior year graphic design students at a University in Amman, while also doing a bus trip around Jordan. In the event we became a group of insatiables that perpetually wanted to know when the next meal stop would be. And Baba Ganoush (of which there are are different kinds btw) was one of the big stars.

Lovely lovely times. No idea if they will ever read this, but - miss you Evripides Zantides. Miss you Sudhir Sharma. Miss you Albert Choi. Miss you Vlado Franjević. Miss you Todor Vardjiev. Miss you Essam Abu Awad. Miss you all.


INGREDIENTS
  • 2 medium eggplants
  • ¼ cup tahini (actually  bit more if you ask me ;-)
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
  • 2 garlic cloves (again, 3 rather than 2, if you ask me)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • Finely chopped parsley, for garnish
  • Pinch of smoked paprika
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
  • Pita and veggies, for serving 

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F and wrap the eggplant in foil. Roast the eggplant for 50 to 60 minutes, or until it is soft and collapses to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside. This is the lazy way to do it. 
  • The correct way is as follows: Cook the eggplant on the grill (no foil), until the eggplant is very soft and charred all over. Remove the charred skin and continue with the recipe instructions.
  • Once cool to the touch, peel the skin from the eggplant, removing any big clumps of seeds. Place the flesh in a strainer over a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes to remove excess water.
  • Place the eggplant flesh, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, if using. Serve with pita and vegetables.


Shamelessly filched from: 
Thank you Love and Lemons! :-)

Images: Unsplash, Pexels and Freepik.


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