Traditional Baba Ganoush
A classic Middle Eastern eggplant dip made with roasted eggplant, tomato, onion, garlic, parsley, lemon, and olive oil, optionally finished with pomegranate molasses, sumac, and mint.
Equipment
- stovetop
- Bowl
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Fork or Potato Masher
Ingredients
Ingredients
- ?1 eggplant
- ?1 tomatodiced
- ?1 oniondiced
- ?2 clovesgarlic
- ?2 tablespoonsparsley
- ?1/2 lemonjuiced
- ?1 tablespoonolive oil
- ?1/2 teaspoonsalt
- ?1 tablespoonpomegranate molassesoptional
- ?sumacoptional
- ?mint leavesoptional
Instructions
Instructions
- Prepare the fresh ingredients: if not already diced, dice the 1 tomato and the 1 onion. Finely mince the 2 cloves garlic. Chop the 2 tablespoons parsley and set aside about 1 teaspoon of the chopped parsley for garnish if desired. Have ½ lemon ready to juice.
- Roast the 1 eggplant directly over the flame on your stovetop, turning it every few minutes so all sides char evenly; roast about 15 minutes total until the skin is blackened and the pulp is very soft and tender.
- Let the roasted eggplant cool until you can handle it (several minutes). Peel off and discard the skin, remove the stem, and scoop the pulp into a bowl.
- Mash the eggplant pulp with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth but still slightly textured.
- Before mixing, set aside about 1 teaspoon of the 1 tablespoon olive oil for drizzling at the end; add the remaining olive oil to the bowl along with the diced tomato, diced onion, minced garlic, the chopped parsley (except the small amount reserved for garnish), the juice of ½ lemon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly to combine.
- If using, stir in 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses now.
- Transfer the baba ganoush to a serving dish, drizzle the reserved olive oil over the top, and optionally sprinkle with sumac and garnish with the reserved parsley or mint leaves. Serve warm or cold.
Notes
Roasted eggplants freeze very well and can stay in the freezer for up to 6 months.
For better results, use very fresh eggplants to make Baba Ganoush. Overripe eggplants are bitter in taste and won’t taste as good. Fresh eggplants are shiny and are never soft or wrinkled.
Enjoy this dip either a bit cold or at room temperature. Store it in the fridge, and before consuming let it sit at room temperature for a bit.
This recipe serves up to 4, but can easily be doubled.
If you’re worried that your eggplant might be a bit bitter, just slice it in half, sprinkle with a little bit of salt, and soak for 20 minutes or so. Then rinse it very well with cold water and roast.
If you’re roasting the eggplant in the oven, and still want to get that smoky flavor, then add a little bit of smoked paprika once you mix the ingredients. Liquid smoke works well too.
For better results, use very fresh eggplants to make Baba Ganoush. Overripe eggplants are bitter in taste and won’t taste as good. Fresh eggplants are shiny and are never soft or wrinkled.
Enjoy this dip either a bit cold or at room temperature. Store it in the fridge, and before consuming let it sit at room temperature for a bit.
This recipe serves up to 4, but can easily be doubled.
If you’re worried that your eggplant might be a bit bitter, just slice it in half, sprinkle with a little bit of salt, and soak for 20 minutes or so. Then rinse it very well with cold water and roast.
If you’re roasting the eggplant in the oven, and still want to get that smoky flavor, then add a little bit of smoked paprika once you mix the ingredients. Liquid smoke works well too.