Baba Ghanoush
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
The classic baba ghanoush - a Middle Eastern staple served with any self respecting meze. Tweak the quantities to your own taste.
Ingredients
- 2 medium aubergine (about 1.4kg total), roasted
- 1/3 cup tahini from light seeds, not "dark tahini"
- 3 cloves garlic roasted (or 1 raw, crushed)
- 1 whole fresh lemon, juiced or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional); you can also top with a sprinkle of paprika or smoked paprika
Method
Roast the aubergine
- You will find that roasting over an open flame will produce a smokier, richer flavour. You will need 15-20 minutes with this method. Place the roasted aubergine pulp into a bowl with half of the smoky cooking liquid. Discard the skin and reserve the remaining cooking liquid. Let the aubergine return to room temperature.
- Alternatively, roast in an oven at 200C/180c fan. Do not pierce as you want the juice. You can roast the garlic at the same time if using this method.
Add tahini, garlic, fresh lemon juice, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to the bowl. Use a fork and/or spoon to mash together the mixture, using firm pressure to break up the tahini paste, roasted garlic, and any stringiness of the aubergine. Mix until well combined using a fork - don't blitz in a food processor as this will ruin the texture.
Taste the dip. Add additional tahini, lemon juice, salt or cayenne pepper, if desired. The cayenne is extremely spicy, so add with care.
Drizzle the surface of the dip lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve as a dip with pita bread, crackers or chips.
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