Baba Ghanouj Recipe (Without an Oven)

There are only a few ways you can get me to eat eggplant and this is one of my favorites! Baba ghanouj or baba ganoush is simply an eggplant dip, but like most simple dishes, the devil is in the details. There are a few key ingredients I’ve found make a huge difference when it comes to making this dip taste like it does at a restaurant. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 small eggplants

• 1 cup tahini

• 2 garlic cloves

• Juice from half a lemon

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp sumac

• Few cracks of black pepper

• Must serve with olive oil AND pomegranate molasses

Instructions:

• Turn on the gas stove and char the outside of the eggplants until the skin is black, blistered, and the entire eggplant is a bit mushy

• Place in a bowl and cover with a lid to let it steam for 15 mins at least - this will help get the charred skin off

• In a food processor, blitz the garlic cloves, tahini, lemon juice, salt, sumac, and black pepper until smooth

• Now that the eggplant has steamed, scrape off the charred bits with a spoon, leaving some for a deliciously smokey flavor, and cut into small chunks to be placed into the food processor

• Add the eggplant in with the tahini mixture and blitz until smooth

• Serve with really good olive oil and pomegranate molasses — if you can’t find pomegranate molasses, the next best thing could be maple syrup, date syrup, or agave syrup