Baba Ghanoush - Lebanese Eggplant Dip

Baba Ghanoush is a dip made of roasted pureed eggplant and sesame seed paste, often served as part of Mezze (appetizers) or as a side dish with dinners in the Middle East. Baba Ghanoush (or Ghanouj) is a delicious, healthy, gluten free, vegan dip that is easy to make.

Baba means father in Arabic, Gjanouj means spoiled, so Baba Ghanouj translates to "spoiled father". The dish supposedly originated in Lebanon several thousand years ago when a daughter had to mash her elderly, toothless faters food because he was not able to chew it.

Here is how you can make Baba Ghanoush at home:

1. You need one large or two medium eggplants for this recipe (about 2 lbs. (900 grams). Wash the eggplant and cut off the stem. Use a fork to poke holes to the eggplant, at least three rows of holes on both sides. This is to avoid it from exploding in the oven. Place the eggplant in a baking dish lined with foil. Set your oven to broil and broil the eggplant for two - three minutes, then turn the eggplant around and broil for two more minutes on the other side. Turn off the broiler and set your oven to 450F degrees (leave the eggplants in the oven) and bake until the skin has collapsed and it is completely tender on the inside (about 20 minutes)

2. Let the eggplant(s) cool off a bit then peel the skin off and add them to a food processor.

3. Stir and shake your tahini jar before adding1/4 cup tahini paste, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, 2 tbsp. water, and 3 tbsp. lemon juice. Pulse until the eggplant has turned into a puree. Taste to see if more tahini, salt or lemon is needed. (It is almost impossible to give exact measurements for this dish as the taste turn out different each time unless you have exactly the correct amount of eggplant. So you need to taste and add one thing or the other most of the time

Put the eggplant dip on a plate or in a bowl. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top just before serving. Serve the Baba Ghanoush at room temperature, but you can store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Here is what you need to make Baba Gjanoush: