Baba Ghanoush Spread Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place each eggplant directly over the flame of a gas burner or under a broiler, turning occasionally until skin is lightly charred, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the eggplants have shriveled and feel very soft all over when pressed. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Slit each eggplant open, and remove seeds (don't worry if you miss a few). Scrape flesh from skin with a table knife, and transfer to a large bowl. It's okay if some charred skin is included. Discard skin and seeds.
• Mash eggplant with a fork, or whisk until it is fairly smooth but still has a few lumps. Mix in garlic, tahini, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper. Adjust flavors as desired. Garnish baba ghanoush with chopped parsley, and serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F. Cut each eggplant in half vertically and place on sheet pan. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40-45 minutes until very soft.
• Let eggplants cool before handling. Scoop eggplant flesh out of skins into bowl of a food processor. Add lemon juice, tahini, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Serve with pita bread or pita chips.

Steps:

• Place eggplant directly on a gas burner and roast over medium-low heat. Turn until charred and blistered all over, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat, place in a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let cool for 10 minutes (this will make it easier to remove the charred skin).
• When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove to a cutting board, make a cross-cut to open, and scoop out 1 cup of the flesh into another bowl. Add a pinch of salt and ¼ cup Basic Tahini Sauce and mix. Grate in about ¼ teaspoon garlic, followed by the olive oil, and mix again. Garnish with more Basic Tahini Sauce, pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, salt, sumac, parsley, and more olive oil, and serve. (Note: Video for how to make the Basic Tahini Sauce can be found in Michael Solomonov's Hummus recipe.) To make the Basic Tahini Sauce: Break up the head of garlic with your hands, letting the unpeeled cloves fall into a blender. Add the lemon juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend on high for a few seconds until you have a coarse purée. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes so the garlic can mellow.Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large mixing bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Add the tahini to the bowl, along with the cumin and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk the mixture until smooth; the sauce will lighten in color. Whenever the tahini seizes up or tightens, add ice water bit by bit (about 1.5 cups in total), whisking energetically until you have a perfectly smooth, creamy, thick sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Arrange oven racks so you have one low and one high in the oven.
• Cut a shallow slit along the side of the eggplant and place into a baking dish.
• Roast in preheated oven on the lower rack until the eggplant is completely shrunken and soft, about 40 minutes. Move dish to higher rack and continue baking until the skin is charred, about 5 minutes more. Let eggplant cool until cool enough to handle.
• Peel and discard skin from eggplant. Put eggplant into a bowl; add tahini, garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir until ingredients are evenly mixed. Drizzle olive oil over the baba ghanoush and garnish with parsley.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
• Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Steps:

• Pierce the eggplants in several places with a toothpick. Wrap the whole eggplant in aluminum foil, and set it over a gas grill to cook on all sides until it collapses and begins to release a great deal of steam.
• Place the eggplant in a basin of cold water; peel while it's still hot and allow it to drain in a colander until cool.
• Squeeze pulp to remove any bitter juices. Mash the eggplant to a puree.
• In a food processor, mix the tahini with the garlic, onion, tomato, and lemon juice until the mixture thickens and reduces in size. Thin with water. With the machine running, add the eggplant and the salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• Spread out in a shallow dish, and garnish with pepper, parsley, and tomatoes.

Steps:

• Prick the skin of the eggplant and roast it at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until the eggplant collapses.
• Scoop the flesh out (everything but the skin), and add it to the food processor.
• Add the other ingredients, and pulse until smooth.
• Serve in a pita, or as a dip.
• Note: this can be made without the garbanzos, but I like the flavor and texture they add.
• You can use roasted garlic for a smoother taste - just wrap a head of garlic in aluminum foil and put it in with the eggplant!

Steps:

• Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill.
• Preheat an oven to 375°F.
• Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill rack 4 to 5 inches from the fire.
• Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin.
• Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl.
• Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste.
• Add the 1/4 cup tahini, the garlic, the 1/4 cup lemon juice and the cumin and mix well.
• Season with salt, then taste and add more tahini and/or lemon juice, if needed.
• Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley.
• Place the olives around the sides.
• Serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place each eggplant directly over the flame of a gas burner or under a broiler, turning occasionally until skin is lightly charred, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the eggplants have shriveled and feel very soft all over whenpressed. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Slit each eggplant open and remove seeds (don't worry if you miss a few). Scrape flesh from skin with a table knife and transfer to a large bowl. It's okay if some charred skin is included. Discard skin and seeds.
• Mash eggplant with a fork or whisk until it is fairly smooth but still has a few lumps. Mix in garlic, tahini, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper. Adjust flavors as desired. Garnish baba ghanoush with chopped parsley and serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate. Prick the surface of the skin of eggplants several times with the tip of a knife.
• Place eggplants directly on grill. Turn frequently with tongs while skin chars. Cook until eggplants have collapsed and are very soft, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to cool, about 15 minutes.
• When eggplants are cool enough to handle, split them in half and scrape flesh into a colander placed over a bowl. Drain 5 or 10 minutes.
• Transfer eggplant to mixing bowl. Add crushed garlic and salt; mash until creamy but with a little texture, about 5 minutes. Whisk in lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, and cayenne pepper. Stir in yogurt.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, 3 or 4 hours. Taste to adjust seasonings. Stir in mint and parsley.

Steps:

• Heat the grill to its highest setting. Put the aubergines on a baking sheet and grill for 35-40 mins or until completely softened, blackened and blistered, turning them halfway through with a pair of tongs. Set aside and leave to cool completely.
• Once your aubergines are cool enough to handle, gently peel off the charred skin and discard. Transfer the flesh to the large bowl of a food processor along with 30ml of the oil, the coriander, cumin, tahini, lemon and half the parsley. Season and pulse the flesh three or four times to create a chunky textured dip.
• Transfer the dip to a bowl and drizzle with the remaining oil, scatter over any leftover parsley and serve with warm flatbreads or pitta.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Place cut side up on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush 1 tablespoon olive oil over cut sides. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and paprika. Bake until dark golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove eggplant from pan to a wire rack to cool., Peel skin from eggplant; discard. Put flesh into a food processor and pulse to mash; transfer to bowl. Stir in tahini, lemon juice, garlic and and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spoon into serving dish. Drizzle with additional olive oil. Sprinkle with parsley and additional paprika.