Baba Ghanoush

I recently had my first run in with this delightful eggplant dish a few weeks ago.  We have a wonderful little restaurant in Sardis named Tribecca Allie. I you are ever in town, I encourage you to visit.  I promise you won't be disappointed. When Scott picked up our to-go order, Becca the owner had put a few little tastes of different spreads in my container.  One was hummus and the other was Baba Ghanoush.  I couldn't read the name, but after tasting one bite, I knew I was smitten.

While we were on vacation, I made us up a batch.  We ate it with mini pita bread, and everyone loved it.  In fact we loved it so much that I made another batch the next day. 

Baba Ghanoush is a spread made from roasted eggplant.  It is then mixed with garlic, olive oil, tahini paste, cumin, parsley and of course salt and pepper.  It is a super simple and amazingly good!  I must confess I am not a huge eggplant fan. I have only had it as eggplant Parmesan, that is until I tried baba ghanoush!  I am sold.  Since you are roasting the eggplant, I like to use the big one, but the little ones might be good as well.

Here comes the confession... While on vacation we didn't have all the ingredients, namely cumin and tahini paste, or for that matter parsley. I substituted basil for the parsley, and it was delicious.  The second batch I purchased cumin, but everyone seemed to like it better without.  The beauty of cooking is that you can make things to your taste. If you are not a cumin fan, don't add it.  Don't like tahini, leave it out.  I promise you this is a great dip that your family will love as much as mine.  Roasting the eggplant is the hardest part!

Baba Ghanoush

1 large eggplant
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
if you like cumin 1/2 teaspoon
1/4 cup tahini paste, or if you don't have, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, or omit all together

Important: Using a fork, poke eggplant liberally to allow steam to escape.  Rub eggplant with olive oil. Roast eggplant in a 400 degree oven about one hour.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Scoop out pulp and either place in a large bowl, or food processor or blender.  If using a large bowl, mash well with a fork or potato masher until desired texture.  Add remainder of the ingredients and mix well. 

If using food processor or blender, place all ingredients into the appliance and mix until smooth. 

Place in a serving bowl and garnish with fresh parsley and black pepper.  Serve with pita chips or pita bread.

Enjoy!

Until next time, keep adventuring and looking for joy in the small details of life!

Sarah