Baba ghannouj - Eggplant dip

 
Baba ghannouj is by far one of my favorite dips. It is a delicious blend of eggplants, garlic, and tahini. It has a smooth, creamy texture, and a slightly smoked taste. The popular method is for the eggplant to be baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste which brings a nice depth of flavors.  

Eggplant and tahini dip is called 'baba ghanouj' all over Lebanon, and as soon as you cross the border into Syria it's called 'moutabal'. In Syria and other parts of the Levant, baba ghanouj is something of a salad. It includes chunks of grilled eggplant, diced onion, tomatoes and other seasonal vegetables. The ingredients are tossed together with a pomegranate vinaigrette.
You'll see here, baba ghannouj is not a complicated recipe, plus it keeps well in the refrigerator, which gives you an excuse to make a big batch and eat it for days.

Ingredients: 
2 medium eggplants 
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste) 
2 tbsp lemon juice 
2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed 
1 tsp salt 
1 tbsp olive oil 
chopped parsley for garnish

Prick the eggplant skin with a fork and grill it in a preheated oven at 400ºF (200ºC) for about one hour or until the eggplant is cooked. Let the eggplants cool briefly. 
Split the eggplant and scrape out the pulp. Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor with the other ingredients until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Chill a few hours before serving.



Baba ghannouj - Caviar d'aubergines
Ingrédients: 
2 aubergines de taille moyenne 
1/4 tasse tahini (crème de sésame) 
2 càs de jus de citron 
2 gousses d'ail écrasées 
1 càc de sel 
1 càs d'huile d'olive 
persil haché pour la décoration

Piquez l'aubergine à plusieurs reprises avec une fourchette et faites-la griller au four préchauffé à 200°C pendant une heure ou jusqu'à ce que l'aubergine soit cuite. Laissez-la refroidir un peu. Pelez-la puis mettez les morceaux d'aubergine avec le reste des ingrédients dans un bol mixeur pour les réduire en une purée lisse et homogène.
Assaisonnez de sel ou de jus de citron, si nécessaire. Laissez au frigo quelques heurs avant de servir.


Comments

  1. j'adore le baba ghannouj,hmmmm

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  2. I love baba ghannouj too - or really anything with eggplant. I've actually never made it myself though! It's definitely on my list of things to try for when I (hopefully) get so much eggplant from my garden that I simply don't know what to do with it!

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  3. I have been wanting to make baba gannouj for so long! My husband does a garden every summer and I have already been planning to make my baba gannouj when I have an overflow of eggplant - and I will come back to this recipe; yours looks amazing! I loved reading about the different versions and would enjoy a moutabal recipe, also!

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  4. I love your site! Very nice photography and I will be checking back. Your recipes are all new to me.

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  5. I love eggplants. This is an interesting recipe!

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  6. This is one of my favorite dips. Next time I need a dip I will come back here for yours. It looks wonderful. I hope you are having a terrific day. Blessings...Mary

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  7. Wow, I love how creamy it looks and the bit of olive oil on top just makes it look so rich. My favorite uncle is Lebanese so I will have to make this for him when he comes over next time. I can't wait!

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  8. I love eggplants. I love baba ganoush. Cannot wait to try this. Beautiful photo as well.

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  9. Sounds interesting and new to me! Looks so delicious! Love your beautiful shot too! ;)

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  10. I've never been a fan of eggplant - just haven't had it made well, I guess?? But you've convinced me to give it another whirl. I love the sounds of this dip! :-)

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  11. I love Lebanese food. As a matter of fact, I grew up eating lots of Lebanese food (can you imagine, there is a big Lebanese community in Mexico?).

    Baba ganoush and tabbouleh are regular dishes back home; chez mes parents. Oh, and labne, delicious labne.

    hugs

    h

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  12. Oh, so smooth and silky. That's what I like about your baba ghannouj!

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  13. Coucou! Ton baba ghanouj est super crémeux et me donne envie!

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  14. The photos are making me drool - this looks fantastic.

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  15. This dip looks so creamy and delicious. Can't even tell it is made of eggplants. I would love to try it.

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  16. I love that you can go big batch with baba gannouj and hummus, two of my favorite spreads. I need to try this recipe! xo

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  17. I reckon baba ghannouj is one of the best dips in the world. It's amazing how just a few ingredients can taste so fantastic together!

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  18. Oh, thank you for this! I have been wanting to make baba ganoush for a while now. It looks so delicious!

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  19. I go crazy for baba ghannouj. Like it even more than hummus, and that's saying something!

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  20. Oh la la, qu'il a l'air bon ce caviar d'aubergines, crémeux, onctueux, quel régal sur une tartine de pain grillé.

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  21. Quel délice ce caviar d'aubergine sur des tartines de pain grillé!!
    J'en raffole!

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  22. A great dip! It would be great to eat with steamed asparagus.

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  23. This looks incredible...and SO creamy! Somtimes restaurant baba ghannouj is really lumpy. It just goes to show, home cooking is better!

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  24. Oh I'm making this, I'm so making this with my white aubergines! Thank you....

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  25. mm baba ganoush :D I just came across your blog - I´m thinking of making ma´amoul :D my bf is syrian and we made baba ganoush together couple of days back :) It´s one of my favorite dips - if you wanna peak http://andromedaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/baba-ganoush.html :)
    You make so pretty pictures and I like the mixture of orient and french cusine :)
    best greetings from an icelandic girl living with an arab in germany :) now that´s a cocktail ;)
    Eid Mubarak
    Thuri

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  26. These recipes aren't actually 'Lebanese', they're Middle Eastern.. Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians have the exact same dishes. Looks delicious though!

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  27. @ Anonymous: I didn't say that baba ghannouj is Lebanese, I said that in Lebanon it's called "baba ghannouj" wheareas in some other parts it's called "moutabbal".

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  28. Just came across your blog... wow! this looks fabulous! I am so excited about your extensive list of Lebanese dishes. Can't wait for eggplant to come into season around here! :) :)

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