Dear Baba Ghanoush,
You are beautiful, creamy, and completely addictive. I love how you taste amazing with all foods, including, but not limited to: pita, veggies, and halloumi. I’m not quite sure why I haven’t been making you for all my life. I promise that ends now and going forward you will be invited to every dinner party, picnic, and annual Dipmas™ celebration.
xo,
Alana
Baba ghanoush (or ganoush) is a dreamy creamy dip made with eggplant. If I’m being completely honest, eggplant and I have not always had the best relationship in the past (soggy eggplant… no thank you). But over the years we have worked on our partnership and I am pleased to report, things are going well.
Eggplant must be treated with respect. It needs love and patience. There are some extra steps in this recipe that may seem silly and time consuming but they are necessary. Charring the eggplant under the broiler is a must because it imparts a beautiful smoky flavour. If you have a grill, use it! Letting the eggplant sit over strainer for at least 15 minutes is also imperative. The eggplant’s juices are biiitter and while we like a wee bit of bitterness in our dip, we don’t want our eyes tearing up over here. More on how we deal with bitterness later on.
To blend or not to blend.
When it comes to dips, I love ‘em silky smooth. You may love chunkier dips. We can still get along, I promise. When making this dip, I blend the heck out of it. But, if you want a rustic chunky dip, you can either pulse the dip a few times in the blender or leave the blender out entirely and mash it by hand.
Mayo? Really?
Yes. In my humble opinion, mayo takes baba ghanoush to the next level. It does double duty in this recipe. Creamy mayo takes the bitter edge off of the eggplant and it also lends a hand in making this dip wonderfully velvety. Typically, baba ghanoush is made with tahini only but I love the taste of the dip better with 50/50 mayo and tahini. Obviously if you’d like to keep this dish vegan, you can replace the mayo with more tahini and it’ll still be absolutely delish.
Pro tip: Za’atar is not necessary but highly recommended. Za’atar is a beautiful blend of herbs, spices, salt and sesame seeds. I use this recipe but you can also find it at your local Middle Eastern grocer or a large grocery store with a good international section. Sprinkle a generous amount over the baba ghanoush for a tangy, herby, salty boost of flavour.
P.S. Dipmas™ is our Christmas potluck celebration that we have every year with friends. And it consists of, you guessed it, DIPS. Only dips and dip accoutrements are allowed. It is always a very good day.
Baba Ghanoush-ish Dip
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for topping
- 1 clove garlic grated
- juice from ½ a lemon
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- za'atar for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil at 500F.
- Place the eggplant on a baking tray and grill under the broiler for about 20 minutes, taking care to turn the eggplant regularly, until the skin is completely blackened and the eggplant is soft.
- Remove the eggplant from the oven and let cool until cool enough to handle.
- Remove the skin from the eggplant and discard.
- Put the eggplant in a sieve over a bowl and using a fork, break up the eggplant, encouraging it's juices to start releasing. Let it sit in the sieve and drain it's bitter juices for about 15 minutes.
- Once drained, add the eggplant to a blender along with the tahini, olive oil, mayo, garlic, lemon juice and sea salt and pepper to taste.
- Blend in pulses until the ghanoush is to your desired consistency. I like mine quite silky smooth but you can leave yours chunkier if you like.
- Transfer dip to a container and let rest in the fridge for at least one hour for the flavours to mingle.
- To serve, transfer the dip to a serving dish.Swirl the top of the dip with a spoon to make room for a healthy glug of olive oil and a sprinkling of za'atar.
