If you can’t tell from the various posts, Baby Lady and I love eggplant. This is a wonderful preparation. It can be used as an appetizer, served as a side or as a salad. I have a dear friend who hates most veggies and almost every veggie when cooked. She even liked this dish.

We hadn’t seen Teresa in a long time. She is one of our favorite people and close friends. One weekend we got a call that she was coming to town so we decided to have an elegant meal. She very much likes Steak Richard. So we knew we were fixing that for dinner. Because it was grill night, we decided Baba Gannouj would be a wonderful appetizer to serve with drinks/wine. It’s easy and doesn’t make a huge mess. We prepared the Baba Gannouj, some pita bread and some cheese and laid out the spread before she arrived. When she arrived and the pleasantries were exchanged, we opened a nice bottle of wine and chatted while eating the Baba Gannouj. At some point in the conversation Teresa asked what was in the dip because it was so good. Realizing she liked it I figured I had her so I told her it was roasted eggplant. She raved about how good it was and how surprised she was it was roasted eggplant. She never took another bite. Oh well, we love her nonetheless. Anyway this just goes to show how good this dish is because people who don’t like eggplant will love this dish. Just don’t tell them it’s eggplant. 😮

Baba ghannouj is a Levantine dish and is known by many different names, i.e. baba ghanoush, baba ganush, or baba ghannoug. It is another one of those ancient dish wonders. Depending upon the region of the Middle East the preparation varies. Some people add yogurt, others add onion, tomatoes and other veggies, yet others still add cumin and chile powder. This is a very simple preparation that brings out the smokiness of the roasted eggplant, the tang of the lemon, the aromatics of the garlic, the creaminess of the tahini and the floral component of the parsley. It’s an absolutely wonderful dish. Even people who don’t like eggplant will like this dish as long as they don’t know what is in it. 😉

Ingredients

• 1 Aubergine Eggplant
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Instructions

Roast the Aubergine eggplant over an open fire roughly 30 – 40 minutes. Allow to cool to touch. While still warm, peel the skin from the eggplant.

When peeled, remove stem end, chop into large pieces and place into a food processor.

Pulse into a rough puree. Add 1/4 cup tahini, 1/4 cup lemon juice, minced garlic, 2 tsp sea salt.

Pulse to incorporate. Add minced parsley.

Pulse and add 1 Tbsp olive oil.

Pulse to incorporate. Pour into a serving bowl, top with a pinch of minced parsley serve with slices of pita bread and enjoy.