Simple and Incredible Baba Ganoush Recipe
We have been using our grill more often now that the weather is getting warmer and we are trying to utilize different cooking methods while we are stuck at home (thank you, quarantine).
Don’t you feel like baba has a wide range of being incredibly tasty or just kind of weird? Well, I feel like this recipe gets it right. We really nailed it and tastes luxurious, warm and amazing. For starters, I highly recommend buying this specific tahini. It’s my favorite and the quality of tahini makes a huge difference not just in baba ganoush, but in pretty much any recipe that calls for the ingredient.
If you learn nothing else from this post but “good quality tahini matters”, I will be okay with that.
The good news is that if you don’t have tahini for this particular recipe, you can substitute it for mayonnaise instead. It will still be a super creamy and tasty dip.
So, the first step in this recipe is the “score” the eggplant to ensure that it cooks evenly. What that means, in this case, is to just take the tip of your knife and make three light cuts to pierce through the skin. This is also a good way to make sure that the eggplant does not explode on you while cooking.
There are different ways to make baba, but the point is to char the eggplant and much as you can. I threw mine on a preheated grill with nothing on the eggplant. The grill is on high heat because I want to char these suckers. I was the skin of the eggplant to be nice and black. I check it every 10-15 minutes and give it a flip. It usually stays on the grill for about 35 minutes.
When I say char the eggplant, I mean- CHAR. THE. EGGPLANT.
I also make this recipe until the broiler, it works just as well, for 25-35 minutes, turning it on each side until it is nice and charred. Undercooked eggplant really hurts my mouth, so that is another reason why I make sure it is very cooked.
Top a spring vegetable like asparagus with some baba ganoush!
Another tip is that when you take the eggplant off the grill or out of the oven, make sure you let it cool down before you scoop the “meat” out of the eggplant because it is REALLY STEAMY and it hurts the fingertips when hot. It is not pleasant.
Note: If you have extra tahini laying around, you can mix that eggplant skin with tahini, garlic, and lemon juice and make charred tahini. It is smoky and it is delicious.
Simple and Incredible Baba Ganoush Recipe
Author: Michele Wolfson Broder
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 pounds Italian eggplants (about 2 small-to-medium eggplants)
1 medium clove of garlic, pressed or minced
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
⅓ cup tahini
¾ teaspoon salt, to taste (fat pinch)
Olive oil and smoked paprika, for garnish
Serving suggestions: warmed or toasted pita wedges, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, grilled vegetables. Sam says great with grilled meat or fish too.
Instructions:
Preheat the grill to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or place the broiler on the oven on high with a rack in the upper third of the oven. If using the oven, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with tin foil to prevent the eggplant from sticking to the pan. Score the eggplant and char on grill or broiler for 25-35 minutes, flipping halfway through. Cook the eggplant until the interior is very tender throughout and the skin is collapsing and black.
Take out the eggplant and let it cool so you don’t burn your little fingers. Cut the eggplant in half. Flip the eggplants over and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, leaving the skin behind. The eggplant flesh should be nice and soft and custardy. Discard the skins. When you see all the juice that is in the bowl with that flesh, be sure to drain a little bit of that liquid out and down the drain because it is bitter and makes your Baba too watery. You want to remove as much moisture from the eggplant here as possible. Pick out any stray bits of eggplant skin and discard.
Dump the eggplant into the bowl. Add the garlic and lemon juice to the eggplant and stir vigorously with a whisk until eggplant breaks down. Add the tahini to the bowl and stir until it’s incorporated. Continue stirring until the mixture is pale and creamy, and use your whisk to break up any particularly long strings of eggplant.
Stir in the salt. Season to taste with more salt (I usually add another ¼ teaspoon) and more lemon juice, if you’d like a more tart flavor. I usually don’t.
Transfer the baba ganoush to a serving bowl and lightly drizzle olive oil on top. Lastly, sprinkle smoked paprika on top. Serve with accompaniments of your choice. It’s also great on sandwiches!