Baba ganoush recipe is the perfect way to dip into eggplant
It’s the season for eggplant, or French aubergine, Italian melanzane, Spanish berenjenas, Indian brinjal and Arabic badinjan. Whatever you call this member of the nightshade family, it’s a fruit of various shapes, sizes and colors. They are all so gloriously plump and shiny that an artist friend was moved to paint a series of still life portraits from her farmers market haul.
Her vast assortment included fruits that were long, curly magenta; short, stubby black; plump, pale lavender; fat, purple-striped; egg-shaped white; and tiny green balls — and, of course, the more familiar purple classic named “Black Beauty.” Regardless of its size and shape, eggplant should be firm and shiny with a tight green cap. (Avoid eggplant that is wrinkled or soft, as those tend to be old and bitter.)
Eggplant doesn’t last long and, like tomatoes, doesn’t like the cold. It’s best stored at room temperature and enjoyed right away. Cooked, eggplant may be frozen or kept in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days, ready to add to soups, stews and spreads.
Cooking eggplant (and eggplant must be cooked) reveals its creamy white flesh that’s ready to blitz into a spread, dip or sauce, or simmer into a soup. Eggplant’s neutral character absorbs and complements a range of flavors.
The simplest, most straightforward method of cooking eggplant is to roast it in the oven or on the grill until it collapses and the flesh turns creamy and lush, ready for the garlicky spread baba ganoush, or eggplant schmear. Serve this plain with toasted pita, spread on a sandwich or as a base to a tangy tomato salad with plenty of garden herbs.
As long as you’re roasting or grilling eggplant, you may as well add a few more for leftovers; savor the flavors of late summer while it’s still here.Baba Ganoush (Eggplant Spread)
This Baba Ganoush Recipe Serves 4 to 6.
This simple recipe makes a fine base for a tomato salad, a dip for toasted pitas and a bold-tasting sandwich spread. The eggplant is sliced horizontally to roast with slivers of garlic until they both turn mellow and creamy and then tossed with a lemony tahini dressing. Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. From Beth Dooley.
• 3 medium eggplants, about 2 1/2 to 3 lb.
• 3 to 5 cloves garlic, sliced into slivers
• Coarse salt
• 4 tbsp. tahini paste
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice, or more to taste
• Pinch cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, or more to taste
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 tbsp. chopped mint, plus more for garnish
• 1 c. sliced cherry tomatoes
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the eggplant in half horizontally and with a paring knife, cut slits across the exterior of the eggplant about an inch deep; insert garlic sliver into the slits. Sprinkle the cut part of the eggplant halves with a little coarse salt and place cut side down on the parchment. Bake until the eggplant collapses and is very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.
While the eggplant is roasting, in a small bowl whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, cayenne, cumin and oil.
Remove the eggplant from the oven and allow it to cool slightly; scoop the cooked flesh into a medium bowl. Lightly mash in the cilantro, mint and tahini sauce to desired consistency. (Serve any leftover sauce on the side.) Taste and adjust the seasonings. Place the eggplant skins on a plate, cut side up, and fill the eggplant with the mashed eggplant mixture. Scatter the sliced cherry tomatoes over the eggplant and serve. Baba Ganoush Recipe With Dip Eggplant.
If You Are Allergic To Eggplant Try This Baba Ganoush Recipe
Baba ganoush Recipe Without Eggplants
Baba ganoush recipe is a delicious, smoky aubergine dip made by cooking whole aubergines until blackened on the outside and softly steamy on the inside. Try it with a Middle-Eastern flatbread such as maneesh.
Prick the aubergines with a fork. Grill the aubergines until the skin is charred and blacked and the flesh feels soft when you press it (this will take approximately 15-20 minutes, turning repeatedly through cooking until the whole skin is charred).
In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and pepper.
When cool enough to handle, cut the aubergines in half and scoop out the flesh. Mix the soft flesh with the remaining ingredients.
Place in a serving dish and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle the parsley over the top.Recipe Tips
You can cook the aubergines for this baba ganoush over a hot barbecue for real authenticity.
Roasted Garlic And Baba Ganoush Recipe Fire Up Northwest Flavors
“Indigenous West Coast techniques like grill work and wood-burning suit this part of the world,” says Andrew Richardson, executive chef at Vancouver, B.C.’s CinCin Ristorante + Bar. Its Italian-style cuisine “cautiously bends the rules” of Pacific Northwest fire-cooking traditions that extend back to cedar-plank salmon, he says.
Richardson’s lushly photographed debut cookbook, “CinCin: Wood-Fired Cucina,” reflects the restaurant’s signature wood-oven cooking, emphasizing local, seasonal ingredients. The recipes are calibrated for the home cook and organized by course. While some of the dishes are rousingly complex, these two recipes are simple and versatile.Whole Roasted Garlic (Garlic Confit)
Makes about 40 cloves
Prep: (not counting time in oven or cooling): 5-10 minutes | Easy
Richardson recommends an “aggressive, spicy olive oil – first-press but not premium grade.” Olives such as those grown in the dry, hot climate of Calabria in southern Italy will impart a more intense flavor to the garlic, he notes.
Ingredients6 heads garlicAbout 4 cups (1 L) extra-virgin olive oil, to cover garlic2 sprigs fresh rosemary2 sprigs fresh thyme
DirectionsPreheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).Clean the garlic of any loose skin or dirt. Trim the root hairs and place the heads in a medium-sized heavy ovenproof sauté pan or saucepan. Cover with the olive oil and add the rosemary and thyme. Place the pan over gentle heat, and warm until the oil just starts to bubble.Cover and place in the oven for at least 2 hours, or until you can easily squash the garlic between 2 fingers.Cool to room temperature.
You can remove the garlic from the oil to use immediately, or leave the garlic in the oil and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 month. To serve from the fridge, simply bring to room temperature and remove from the oil.Baba Ganoush
Prep: (including cooking in oven): About 1 hour | Average
Equipment: Wood-fired grill or a gas flame
In his cookbook, baba ganoush is just one element of a dish described as “Wood-grilled Alberta lamb rack – tomatoes roasted on the vine – baba ganoush and pesto – polenta alla griglia, lamb sauce.” That’s almost a poem. But this recipe makes about 2 cups, which Richardson says is enough for 3 or 4 servings as a purée to spread on bruschetta served with vegetables or to accompany grilled or roast meat or fish. He suggests pairing with a Cabernet Sauvignon or other red wine.
Chef’s tipsGlobe eggplants give a better yield but if buying longer, slimmer varieties, double the number.Heat the oven before starting to cook the eggplants, in case they need to finish in the oven.If the eggplants spring back when squeezed, place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they offer no resistance to the touch.Choose an olive oil that is “grassy, milder, with floral notes.”
Ingredients2 cloves Whole Roasted Garlic (taken from a full head)2 globe eggplant1 tablespoon (15 mL) tahini (sesame paste)10 tablespoons(150 mL or just over 1-1/2 cups) extra-virgin olive oil1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) smoked paprikaLemon juice to tasteSea salt and freshly ground black pepperOlive oil, for finishing
DirectionsLight a wood-fired barbecue or a gas flame. Place the whole eggplant in the burning coals of the barbecue or, using a pair of tongs, hold the eggplant over the gas flame.Cook the eggplant until the outer skin becomes dark and scorched and the centre is tender. If the outer skin is blackened but the centre is still firm, wrap the eggplant in foil.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and cook until the centre becomes tender.Remove from the oven, carefully open the foil and let the eggplant cool enough to be able to peel off the skin. Roughly chop the flesh, then place it in a blender. Add the tahini, olive oil, garlic confit and smoked paprika, and blend until smooth.Pass the purée through a tamis or fine-meshed sieve. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Serve at slightly warmer than room temperature, drizzled with olive oil.
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Whole Roasted Garlic (Garlic Confit) and Baba Ganoush recipe excerpted from “CinCin: Wood-Fired Cucina” by Andrew Richardson (copyright 2016 by Aquilina Restaurants Limited Partnership), with permission from Figure 1 Publishing. All rights reserved.
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