So I have been making this recipe for Baba Ghanouj at home and for friends for the past few months and have heard nothing but great things about it. Of course, I want to give the original recipe credit. It can be found here, but keep in mind that, on this blog, I've shown a slightly modified version of it.
What's that? What's Baba Ghanouj, you say? Oh! It's essentially eggplant trying to imitate hummus. It's roasted eggplant pureed into a similar texture to hummus and used for the exact same thing. Dipping and enjoying goodness!
That being said. This will go quickly so get ready!
I should start off by saying that you really should have a food processor for this. If you don't, you MAY be able to get away with it using a blender or an emulsion blender. I have a NINJA and I'm in love with it.
Alright, here are the ingredients:
2 medium-large eggplants (about 1 pound each)
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3-1/2 cup of tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Ok, so you need to set your oven to 375, oil your baking sheet, cut the tops off your eggplants and then slice them in half longways. You are going to lay them, cut side down, on the baking sheet and bake them until the flesh is super tender (this can take you anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour plus).
**I usually figure out they are done by looking at how wrinkled the skin looks and poking it, but I'm gutsy and like sticking my hands in hot ovens :-)**
You are next going to transfer the eggplant to a cooling rack so they can drain. Eggplants carry A LOT of fluid that you just don't want to take away from the taste of the vegetable. They will drip/drain/cool for about half an hour and then you can scoop out the flesh into the food processor where you have oh, so preparedly placed all the other ingredients.
Like this!
Then you are literally just going to blend the heck out of it until it is the consistency you want. Here is the trick to this: if you are making this, you've had it before at restaurants and know what it should taste like. If it needs more tahini, DO IT. Salt? DO IT. More garlic? Oh, HECK yes. Please do not be afraid to make this suitable for your tastes. I NEVER make it the same way. This recipe is general and is designed to adjust. I always end up adding more salt or garlic or lemon juice. If it's too thick, add more oil. There you go, you got it now!
Alright, please try this at home. Also, please feel free to give me feedback or thoughts on how yours went. If you have questions, ask them!
Enjoy!
Let's talk basic kneeds!
