Baba Ganoush

Baba ganoush it’s fun to say and delicious to eat! This tasty dip is made from smashed eggplants with tahini and spices. It’s great with crackers or as a spread on sandwiches. If you love eggplant as much as me, you’ve got to try this.

Baba Ganoush Meaning

Did you know that baba ganoush roughly translates to “pampered daddy” or “spoiled papa”? There are many stories around how the name came to be, including some about a daughter who spoiled her toothless father by mashing up all his food. So if you want to spoil your dad on father’s day, make baba ganoush!

Eggplant, also known as aubergine, is a delicious fruit. Yup you heard that right, eggplant is technically a fruit, although we tend to think of it as a vegetable. Eggplant is nutrient dense and low carb, paired with protein packed tahini and micronutrient loaded parsley—this a healthy snack to enjoy. Your body will thank you!

How to Make Baba Ganoush

Baba ganoush is really easy to make. The hardest part is grilling the eggplant. If you can handle that, then you’ve got this. To start, heat up the grill on high. Then wash the eggplants and cut them in half lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil so they don’t stick to the grill. Once the grill is pre-heated turn the heat down to low and add the eggplant. Rotate the eggplant about every 5 minutes so that they don’t get overly charred on any side. Keep rotating the eggplant until they are fully cooked. It should be soft, kind of floppy, and the juicy when it is fully cooked. Typically takes about 30-45 minutes on the grill.

When you remove the eggplant from the grill, put it in a dish and cover the dish with a wet towel. This helps to release the eggplant “meat” from the skins. Let the eggplants cool in their covered dish for about 20 minutes. Then peel the skin off and discard it. Roughly chop the eggplant “meat” into 1/2 inch size cubes and toss them into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients: tahini, minced garlic cloves, lemon juice, cumin and parsley. Mix together and smash up the eggplant with a fork. Once the consistency is that of a chunky spread, think salsa, it is ready to eat. Sprinkle with some sumac and enjoy!

Alternate Cooking Method

Alternatively, you can also roast the eggplant in the oven instead of grilling. Bake the eggplant at 350 degrees for 45 minutes will do it. I prefer to grill the eggplant because it does add a smoky flavor that I enjoy, but either method works!

Baba Ganoush

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This baba ganoush recipe gets its smoky flavor from grilling the eggplants. Easy to make and keeps well, this is a great dip to make in big batches and nibble on throughout the week. Amazing as a sandwich spread!

• Author: Erica
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 45
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 3 cups
• Category: Plant based
• Method: Grilled
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

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• 2 eggplants
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Sprinkle of salt
• Sprinkle of sumac (optional)

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Instructions

1. Fire up the grill on high!
2. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Put the eggplant on the grill and decrease the heat to low. Turn the eggplant about every 5 minutes to keep from burning. Cook for 30-45 minutes until the eggplant is fully cooked. Fully cooked eggplant will be juicy and soft.
4. Remove the eggplant from the grill, put it in a dish and cover with a wet towel.
5. Once the eggplant has cooled enough to touch (approximately 20 minutes), use a spoon to peel the skin from the eggplant. Chop the eggplant into rough 1/2 size cubes and toss into a mixing bowl.
6. Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl: tahini, garlic cloves, lemon, cumin, and parsley. Using a fork, mix everything together and smash up the eggplant until it is the consistency of a chunky spread. Sprinkle with sumac and salt then it’s time to enjoy!

Notes

Baba ganoush is wonderful to enjoy right away, but it gets even better as it sits and the flavors combine. This is a great recipe to make a day ahead and keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but I don’t it will last that long!