This is the classic recipe of a Levantine smoky meze dish. It’s a dip and should be accompanied by pitta bread.
Pierce with a fork the eggplants all around.
On a low heat gas stove place the eggplants directly on the grate and roast for 20-30 minutes until burned on the outside.
Garnish with paprika and parsley
Roasting the eggplants on direct fire:
Baba Ghanoush
Ingredients
- 4 medium Eggplants – Aubergines , (avoid very large eggplants as they tend to be a bit bitter)
- 100 grs Tahini
- 40 grs Greek Yogurt , optional
- 1 clove Garlic , finely minced (or 2 cloves of roasted garlic)
- ½ teaspoon Cumin , ground
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 2 Lemon juice , or smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon EVOO , (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) for drizzling
- ½ teaspoon sweet Paprika , to garnish
- fresh Parsley , few leaves of parsley leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Using a fork pierce the eggplants all around.
- On low heat gas stove place the eggplants directly on the grate and roast for about 20 minutes until burned on the outside. With the use of tongs turn the eggplants every 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Cut the eggplants lengthwise in half and scoop the pulp flesh avoiding including any of the charred skin, and place in a bowl. Try to remove some of the seeds that are in the flesh.
- Place the pulp on a cutting board and with a chef’s knife chop it well. You don’t want to lose all the texture of the eggplants but instead to cut any stringy pieces. Return the pulp to the bowl.
- Chop the garlic with a pinch of salt to create a nice paste.
- Add into the bowl the garlic paste, tahini, lemon juice, yogurt (if using), salt and mix well with a spoon.
- Drizzle with the oil and garnish with the paprika and few leaves of Parsley
