Baba Ghanoush, my second favorite Middle Eastern food (after hummus) is another one of those things my texturally challenged husband won't even try. He's just not a dip/spread kinda guy. But since most people are, you should have some of this on hand over the weekend. Make a big batch, serve some tonight and the rest over the weekend. It keeps nicely for a few days.
As with the hummus, don't get too carried away with the garlic. Remember the garlic is just a minor player, the eggplant is the star. You'll have plenty of time to make the oven-toasted pita wedges (see below) while the baba ghanoush is chilling. Tell me, do you or someone you know have these texture issues, or is Mr Delightful the only person on the planet who doesn't like dips of any kind?
If you'd like to make your own pita bread for the Oven-Toasted Pita Wedges (below), it's really quite easy. I hope you'll try it soon. (And, yes, I do know that 'pita' means bread and that saying 'pita bread' is really saying 'bread bread'!)
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I have to admit, baba ghanoush is not the most photogenic food in the world and needs some serious styling, which I didn't have time to do, so I used my watercolor eggplant painting for the "Pinnable-size" image in this post!
Baba Ghanoush - Caviar d'Aubergine
(Makes 2 cups)2 medium (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total) eggplants
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon (1/2 small clove) minced garlic
1/4 cup unsalted tahini
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 Preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. Cut eggplants in half, score tops with diamond pattern, rub with just enough oil to coat. Place on foil-lined baking sheet and roast about 30 minutes or until very soft. Cool slightly. Scoop out flesh into colander and let stand a few minutes to drain off any liquid.
2 In bowl of food processor, place drained eggplant and all remaining ingredients. Pulse 8 to 12 times. Put into serving dish and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving. Can be made a day or two ahead.
3 Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and some finely chopped mint, flat-leaf parsley or pistachios. (I didn't have any of those on hand, so I just used some paprika.) Serve with oven-toasted whole wheat pita wedges (see below), sliced baguette or Armenian cracker bread (I love ak-mak!) and raw vegetable strips.
Oven-Toasted Pita Wedges
(Makes 48 wedges)Preheat oven to 375F/190C/Gas5. Brush a little extra-virgin olive oil on both sides of 6 whole wheat pitas (one package). Cut each into 8 wedges. Place on two large baking sheets. Sprinkle with a little salt, if you like. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until crisp; no need to turn. Can be made day ahead, cooled completely and stored in airtight container.
And here's my favorite kitchen timer, the TimeStack, 'cause if you're like me and have a lot going on at one time, you need more than one or two timers!
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Jean
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Do I “…have textural issues, or is Mr. Delightful the only person on the planet who doesn’t like dips of any kind?” Such a quandary, though I can say unequivocally that I like most dips (if they’re not people). Also love garlic if it’s married to butter in the crusty confines of some kind of toast. But eggplant…I got me standards, I do, I do. Purple veggies are in some advanced stage of virulence or rut or decomposition I decline to explore. If optics matter in the culinary world, eggplants are look-but-do-not-touch. Alas, I am terribly predictable…
ReplyDeleteI love Baba Ghanoush, I love Aubergines and just bought four in my weekly shop. Yes, I really like them a lot. Guess what I'll be making this week? Thank you so much for this recipe.
ReplyDeleteLooks tasty. I love hummus so going to have to try this. I like your eggplant artwork!! Thanks so much for linking up at the 25 and Done Link Party 16! 25 entries in 25 hours!! Shared on Fb and Tw but there was a glitch I suppose with Pn as I got this error notice (Something went wrong on our end. Sorry about that.) so I'll try again with that one later :)
ReplyDeleteSully, thanks for weighing in, even if you are, alas, terribly predictable! 🤣
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Rustic Pumpkin (with an "o"!). Do come back and let me know how it turned out for you.
ReplyDeleteDee, thank you. I hope you'll try it soon. And I hope Pinterest will work for you later as well. Your Pins and shares are much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI really like hummus and make my own. But I have this "thing" about eggplant. I made
ReplyDeleteup my mind many years ago to never eat it. And I have to say, I'm sticking to it. Don't
even ask why, because I have no answer. Your art work makes eggplant look lovely but
not inviting to eat. Other than hummus, I guess I'm not a dip person either. I love
avocado but I have no intention of eating green dip, lol. And for cats, boy they have
a mind of their own, don't they. Lynn and Precious
Thanks, Lynn. And, you know, it doesn't even matter why someone doesn't like something, or even want to try it. We probably all have at least one such food or category of food! Mine is organ meats.
ReplyDeleteLove your eggplant watercolour painting Jean. I must admit I have never heard of, " baba ghanoush." However, reading the ingredients, they sound familiar . I must have eaten something like it. As far as textures go I am all for textures, Jean. Summer is on its way. I'll get my BBQ equipment out again. This sounds like a great dip to go with whatever goes on the barbecue.
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds delicious! I love baba -- will often get it from the Middle Eastern restaurant but having my own recipe (your own!) would be nice. And I love your painting! I've been doing some workshops on Sketchbook Revival this weekend -- link posted on my current arty blog post. There's still time to join in -- videos remain active till mid-April and they are really jumpstarting the painting again (which I've sorely ignored for too many months.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this!
Since both my parents spent 15 years of their lives in Persia we are big fans of middle eastern food. We had lots of access to Persian food when we lived on the other side of the mountains and when we lived in Southern California but not where we live now...sigh. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteSully made me laugh and I agree with him.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tony. And, yes, it definitely goes well with anything you might throw on the grill! Especially lamb, of course, but anything!
ReplyDeleteJeanie, thank you! And thanks for telling me about the link. I'll look for it, though I'm not sure I can squeeze any video workshops in until the end of April, but we'll see.
ReplyDeleteEllen, how exciting. I didn't know your parents lived there, and for so long. I hope you'll enjoy the recipe.
ReplyDeleteVee, Sully always makes me laugh, and *sometimes* I agree with him!
ReplyDeleteI do like baba ghanoush, but my husband is not fond of it, nor of hummous. Oh well, I enjoy it and make it once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteThese guys! Well, we can make it for ourselves, then eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
ReplyDeletei love eggplant and i love baba ghanoush. and i love your artwork. But i'd have to add more garlic to it - i loooove garlic. It's hard to buy a decent baba ghanoush these days so i'll have to make my own. No one ever smokes it enough :( I like it a bit chunky too. hope you're keeping well.
ReplyDeletecheers
sherry
Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend!
Baba Ghanoush is good stuff! And I haven't made it in several years. Have had it on my list of things to make (and blog about!) for ages now, just haven't gotten around to it. And yeah, it is a bit hard to photograph. My general rule is when something looks blah (but tastes delicious) is just to find a pretty garnish and concentrate on that. Pita bread certainly works in that regard! As to texture, I like dips, a lot, but I do know people who share your husband's dislike. That's OK -- more for us. :-) Anyway, thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteSherry, thanks so much! I loved painting the eggplants. I'm with you on making it a bit chunky, though I often make it quite smooth because more people seem to prefer it that way. Same with guacamole. So I make it chunky for just myself, but smooth for other people.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Abdel.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. I could have done a better photo, but I was having technical difficulties that day and had to go with an old photo taken before I had much experience. Sounds like it's high time you made some of this!
ReplyDeleteSounds really tasty. Definitely need to try this one of these days.
ReplyDeleteOh, and my hubby's not big on dips either. But in his case it's not a texture issue, just that he's so picky about flavours of things. He wouldn't agree, but he's an incredibly picky eater, and the variety of foods he eats is incredibly limited.
Oh, Victoria, you made me chuckle. People who are incredibly picky eaters with an extremely limited diet *never* agree with that assessment! 😁
ReplyDeleteYour dip looks terrific. It's one of my favorite summer time appetizers. When the weather is nice, I like to grill the eggplants whole for a nice smokey tasting dip.
ReplyDeleteWell, as you can imagine, our recipes are pretty similar! Although I use no garlic in mine and even my pickiest friends don’t even notice there isn’t any! As you said, eggplant is the star! I recently made a batch and added some Aleppo pepper (which I usually do) but the pepper was from a new batch and it was really spicy! But so good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen. AND for mentioning the grill. As you say, when the weather is nice it's a great way to add smokey flavor.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I don't use any garlic at all in mine either. But when I have made it for garlic-lovers and just used this amount, they have loved it. Thus proving, there is no need for the great quantities of it that many people use. The Aleppo sounds like a great addition!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds good, Jean. I know my hubby wouldn't eat it though because he doesn't eat hummus. I am much more adventurous than he is when it comes to food. He is better than he used to be however. When I first met him, he wouldn't eat pizza! I mean who doesn't like pizza??
ReplyDeleteMmm yum!
ReplyDeleteVisiting again to say thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 74. Pinned.
ReplyDeleteSandi, thanks. These guys! But pizza? Like you said, who doesn't like pizza?! 😁
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hena!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dee. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWe really love Middle Eastern food and Baba Ganooj is certainly a favorite. This recipe looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteThank you! AND it's gluten-free! Love it with bell peppers for dippers.
ReplyDeleteI love dips, so hummus and Baba Ghanoush are right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who doesn't like oatmeal because of its texture, but she'll eat dips.
Thanks, Margie. I like *all* the mushy stuff—oatmeal, dips, mashed potatoes!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely dip. I absolutely agree that "garlic is just a minor player" and I've sadly eaten the dips of a few cooks who don't agree with this view. And thank you for creating an additional image for this post because you're right, baba ghanoush is never going to compete just on looks. I have known texturally challenged people and I know it's pretty much impossible to change their minds. I had a close friend many years ago who refused all dips and other "soft" foods as well as all fish which she declared was always "slimy". I wonder what happened to her. Hummus and baba ghanoush are both excellent but can I put a vote in for muhammara to be added to that list?
ReplyDeletePhil, thank you! And now that you've told me about muhammara, I'll be happy to give it a go and more than likely add it to my list! I know I can depend on your opinion in these matters.
ReplyDeleteCONGRATS Jean! Your post is FEATURED at the 25 and Done Link Party 17! 25 entries in 25 hours!! Entries shared on Fb, Pn, and Tw. Opens Apr-7 at 2am. Closes Apr-8 at 3am central time.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dee!
ReplyDeleteIt's an excellent, healthy, vegan snack, I have to try the eggplant recipe! A hug :)
ReplyDeleteObrigada, Raquel! I hope you will try it soon.
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hena!
ReplyDeleteMOH isn't a fan of aubergines (scarred by uncooked/tough skin) but I'm gradually winning him over, this may be a step too far right now - but maybe one day! Thanks for sharing with #PoCoLo
ReplyDeleteStephanie, thank you so much! 😁
ReplyDeleteI make a lot of hummus but have not made Baba Ganooj in years. We do love it. Thanks for the recipe and inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful. I always like to hear about people liking this because it's such a healthful as well as delicious and fun thing to eat!
ReplyDelete