baba ghanoush Archives - Good Food St. Louis

Baba Ghanoush

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Baba Ghanoush

Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

2 lbs. Italian eggplants about 2 small-to-medium eggplants*
2 medium cloves of garlic pressed or minced
2 Tbs. lemon juice more if necessary
¼ cup tahini
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing the eggplant and garnish
2 Tbs. tsp. salt to taste
¼ tsp. ground cumin
Pinch of smoked paprika for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Halve eggplants lengthwise and brush cut sides lightly with olive oil. Place in prepared pan halved sides down. (Two smaller eggplants is better than a big one.)
Roast eggplant until interior is tender and skin is collapsing, about 35 to 40 minutes (or longer, if you’re using a large eggplant). Set aside to cool. Scoop out flesh.
Place mesh strainer over mixing bowl and strain to remove skin. Shake for a few minutes to release moisture. Drain, wipe out bowl, and dump eggplant back into the bowl.
Add garlic and lemon juice stir vigorously with fork until eggplant breaks down. Add tahini and stir. While stirring, slowly drizzle in olive oil. (For a lighter dip, use slightly less oil.) Continue stirring until mixture is pale and creamy.
Stir in parsley, salt and cumin. Season to taste with more salt (I usually add another ¼ teaspoon) and more lemon juice, if you’d like a tarter flavor.
Transfer baba ghanoush to serving bowl and lightly drizzle olive oil on top. Sprinkle parsley and smoked paprika on top. Serve with pita wedges, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices.
(Recipe roughly adapted from Serious Eats and Tori Avey.)

Baba Ghanoush: A Middle East Masterpiece

June 26, 2020

(Clockwise from lower left): Baba Ghanoush sprinkled with pomegranate seeds; hummus; raw vegetables; and pita wedges.

Baba Ghanoush sounds like something they served in Arabian Nights. Possibly they did. It’s a traditional dish in the Middle East and neighboring countries. The basic recipe includes roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini (made from sesame seeds). In Israel, the tahini is often replaced with mayo. Baba Ghanoush is much like hummus, except it calls for eggplant instead of chickpeas.

“Dip”-a-Dee-Do-Dah

The photo above shows the Baba Ghanoush that my grandson, Austin, prepared at the farm. The tasty, vegan dip started with a few small, grilled eggplants. (Roasting works, too.) When the outside turned black and the inside mushy, he scraped the pulp from the skins, being careful not to include the charred part. Then he mixed the soft, smoky-tasting pulp with the other ingredients.

You can top the dip with pomegranate seeds (as Austin did), with pomegranate molasses, chopped green onions, or parsley. If you have some Aleppo chili flakes, zaatar spice, or sumac give it a shake.

Stand back and let your guests dive into the smoky, garlicky dip with pita bread, crackers, or crudités. There’s a lot of flavor dancing around in this dish.

Chef Ben Poremba serves a splendid Baba (Olio, Elaia, Benevolent King, AO&Co Market)

In St. Louis you can find the creamy, vegan dip at a number of restaurants. Aya Sofia, Sameem, Al-Tarboush Deli, Sheesh, Vine Mediterranean Deli, Apollonia Mediterranean Greek, Ya-Ya’s Euro Cafe, Cafe Natasha, and Ranoush. I’m sure other restaurants serve Baba Ghanoush, too, but I’ve only eaten it in these.