Babaganoush

Confession time. I was never a big fan of babaganoush. Most of the commercial babaganoush is made with mayo and (another confession) I’m not a huge fan of mayo. So when I first had babaganoush made with tahini instead of mayo, it was a revelation.

Typically eggplant for babaganoush is cooked on a grill or over a flame, leaving a smoky flavour that works so well with the eggplant and tahini. You can absolutely cook yours that way, placing over high heat on a barbeque, charring on all side until the eggplant starts to collapse in on itself (this means the flesh is cooked and nice and soft). But if you don’t have a grill or barbeque and cooking over open flames isn’t an option, you should still be able to enjoy some delicious, smoky babaganoush! My instructions use a combination of roasting and broiling and it works beautifully.

Babaganoush

Creamy with hints of sesame, garlic, lemon, cumin and smokiness. Delicious scooped up with pita or added to a falafel.

Ingredients

900 grams / 2 lbs. globe eggplants (2 medium)
1/2 cup tahini
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
olive oil and chopped parsley for garnish — optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F / 230°C.
Cut the eggplants in half, lengthwise and place them cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven until the eggplant is soft and collapsing in on itself, 40-50 minutes.
Switch the oven to broil and move the tray of eggplant to the rack at the top of the oven (making sure the eggplant aren’t touching the element). Broil the eggplant for 3-4 minutes, until lightly charred.
Let the eggplant cool just until you can handle it then turn the eggplant over and use a spoon to scrape the flesh off the skin. Transfer to a mixing bowl, draining off any excess water that gets released from the eggplant.
Add the rest of the ingredients and use a fork or a potato masher to mash the eggplant and mix everything together. You can do this in a food processor if you want a smooth paste, but I like babaganoush to have some texture.
Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with olive oil and chopped parsley (optional).
This will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days.