How To Make Lebanese Baba Ghanoush

Lebanon was the inaugural country for our endeavor of cooking around the world. Eggplant is Greg’s favorite vegetable so when I saw Baba Ghanoush I quickly started researching recipes. This was my first time using tahini and I really enjoyed it. We also made Beef Kofta with the Baba Ghanoush and served it with pita and fresh veggies.

Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hour (including 1 hour refrigeration time)

Ingredients:

2 medium Eggplant
3 tablespoon Tahini
1 ½ tablespoon Lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 garlic glove (I roasted mine)
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more to drizzle on top)
1-2 teaspoons parsley to garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Trim the top of the eggplant and cut in half, and using your knife, make a few slits in the skin.
Sprinkle the eggplant flesh with salt and let it sit to pull out some of the bitterness and then pat dry.
Place the eggplants cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet and rub some oil on the eggplant.
Optional: Peel a garlic clove and wrap in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet with eggplant.You will only need to roast the garlic for about 25 minutes and then remove just garlic from oven. If you do not want to roast, just mince the garlic and set aside.
Bake eggplant in the 425 degree F heated-oven for 30-40 minutes or until the eggplant fully softens through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
When the eggplant has cooled, scoop out flesh out and transfer to a colander. Let drain for 3 minutes.
Take the eggplant flesh from colander and put in food processor. Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt,garlic (minced or roasted), and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Transfer the baba ganoush to a bowl, then cover and refrigerate for an hour (if you don’t have the time, try refrigerating for a few minutes to let the flavors meld and the baba ganoush thicken a bit.)
Just before serving, top the baba ghanoush with olive oil and parsley leaves. Enjoy with a side of warm pita bread.