Babaganoush is one of Zest’s most popular dishes, and for good reasons: it’s delicious, it’s comfort food, it has a smoky aroma, and with key ingredients like Aubergine, lemon, olive oil and tahini – it’s one of the best representatives of the traditional Middle-Eastern kitchen.
Some say that the Aubergine, with its ability to replace meat in dishes, is the father (‘Baba’) of all vegetables, and that this is the story behind this roll-of-your-tongue name of a dish: Baba = aubergine, Ganoush = indulgent. But while the ability to replace meat might have been the aubergine’s entry ticket into the Jewish cuisine (and more recently, the vegan cuisine), but it is the depth of flavour and the variety of dishes that keep this magnificent vegetable at the top of the favourites list.
My Babaganoush recipe has three simple stages: grilling the aubergine, preparing the tahini and combining the two. And if you have all the ingredients at home, you could be tasting your self-made Babaganoush in 20 minutes. Shall we?
Ingredients ■
4 large aubergines
5 cloves of garlic
1 freshly squeezed lemon
4 tbsp of Tahini
2 tbsp of Olive oil
1 tbsp of chopped flat-leaf Parsley
Salt and Pepper, Sumac
Method■
Stage 1: grilling the aubergine
Grill each aubergine over a grill or an open flame, so they are soft on the inside and burnt on the outside (see pic. 1). Each aubergine may cook differently, so you’ll need to watch over the grilled aubergines and turn them so they burn evenly and soften throughout. Rest the grilled aubergines.
If you do not have a grill or an open flame stove, I recommend you use an oven (fan, 200°c). It might take slightly longer to cook (approx. 20 mins), and you must remember to rotate the aubergines so they are evenly burnt.
Once the aubergines are cold, peel the burnt skin of the aubergine away, so you’re left with the visceral (see pic. 2).
Stage 2: mixing the tahini dressing
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl:
- Squeeze the lemon through a strain, so no pips or pulp get through.
- Make sure the tahini paste is well shaken and mixed, as it tends to stick on the bottom of the jars. If you’re a sesame fan, use more than 4 tbls.
- Chop or blitz the garlic into the mix. If you’re not a garlic fan, you can skip it completely.
Mix until it unites into a smooth dressing (see pic. 3).
Stage 3: get your hands dirty
Put the grilled aubergines and the tahini dressing in a single bowl and mix using your hands. Yes, it is important to get your hands in to rip through the grilled aubergines, so please make sure you have not used a hand sanitizer recently as it will flavour the dish. However, washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds is much recommended these days, so please do so more often regardless… you can also use gloves, off course.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. I recommend full-heartedly to add a bit of somac and finely chopped parsley right before you serve (see pic. 4). You can also garnish with pomegranate kernels or a fresh fig on top.
B’te’avon!
