Smoky Eggplant Spread
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:about 2 cups
- 3medium eggplants, about 2 pounds
- Salt
- ¼cup tahini paste
- ¼cup lemon juice
- 4garlic cloves, mashed to a paste
- ⅛teaspoon cayenne
- ½teaspoon cumin seed, toasted until fragrant and coarsely ground
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- ½teaspoon paprika
- 1tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 1tablespoon finely chopped mint
- Pita or other flatbread, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
185 calories; 13 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 448 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Prepare a charcoal fire or heat the broiler. Pierce eggplants here and there with the point of a paring knife. Place eggplants 2 inches from heat source. Allow skins to blister and char, turning with tongs until entire surface is blackened and eggplants are completely soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Step 2
Slice eggplants in half lengthwise and lay skin side down on a cutting board. Carefully scrape away flesh with a knife and put it in a colander. Discard burned skins. Do not rinse eggplant flesh — a few bits of remaining char is fine. Salt flesh lightly and leave for 5 to 10 minutes, then squeeze into a ball to remove liquid.
- Step 3
Blitz eggplant, ½ teaspoon salt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne in a food processor or blender to obtain a creamy purée. (For a more rustic spread, beat with a whisk instead.) Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice if necessary. Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl.
- Step 4
Just before serving, stir together cumin and olive oil, and spoon over the mixture’s surface. Sprinkle with paprika, parsley and mint. Serve with warm pita cut into triangles if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Figaro
In the middle east this is known as Baba Ganouj. To achieve the traditional smokey flavor, always char your eggplant over an open flame; place in a covered bowl till cool (steam created will loosen charred skins). Use rubber gloves to keep your hands clean. I never use a food processor for this. Unlike hummus, it's better to preserve some texture. Mash with a fork. Be sure to taste and adjust amounts of lemon and tahini paste your palate. This recipe is very authentic in its ingredients.
Dan
I've made this a few times, and my hosts for an upcoming dinner party requested it again. It's easy and fun to make. I never knew that I enjoy charring eggplants, but I do!
Mary Beth
This is lovely and simple. I used Japanese eggplants and and did not skimp on the home-grown garlic. It is easy to halve the recipe.
Gwen in Northern Michigan
I add a little toasted sesame oil rather than olive oil. If you love the flavor of the sesame like I do this is a great option.
Rebecca Love
Thanks for this one. I made 1/4 of this recipe as I had one 14 ounce eggplant. I pureed it in the cuisinart adding the greens last so they remained shreds. Next time I'll cut them in with scissors. It was delicious and easy to scale down. I had one lunch on bread with tomato and one snack with corn chips. Just the right size for a single, hungry cook who doesn't much like leftovers.
Mary Jo
This mix was light and delicious. I also used Japanese eggplant and combined with one large regular one.
Skipped the mint - but will try it next time.
Also used ground cumin - too lazy to roast the seeds and grind. Still one of the best meals - simple and yummy.
Molly Gallucci
This was easy and delicious. My husband doesn't love eggplant but he wants me to make this again already. I added the toasted cumin to the food processor and blended it in for more heat. A great vegan dish!
CTeeg
Yum! Eggplants are so easy and quick to char on the grill. Left them in a bowl draped with a towel for a few hours, and then came back and mixed all in the food processor. Accidentally put all the olive oil and a half teaspoon of cumin in the mix, and only used two garlic cloves, which was quite enough.
SLO Smith
Wow. So easy. So good. I like eggplant but no one in my house does, so I don’t have much experience cooking it. Very easy to follow recipe.
Marcia
Don't forget to pierce the eggplants unless you're curious to see what exploded eggplant looks like!
Marcia
This serves a lot of people. I had two chubby eggplants, and so had to cut them in half lengthwise to get them close to the broiler. The flesh was a bit underdone but it didn't matter; the taste was still smoky. A real winner with guests. I'll serve it in a bigger bowl next time, and drizzle the olive oil. The amount specified pooled too much.
Kathleen
Absolutely delicious I have been making baba ghanoush for years and this recipe really stands out
Carol
I have a question - Anyone try freezing this for later use?
Barb
Instead of cayenne, I added a bit of chipotle in adobo. The smokiness of the chipotle accents the flavor of the charred eggplants. Also tried inserting some slices of garlic into the eggplant flesh before roasting and they mellowed and added to the overall flavor. When blitzing, I used fresh garlic for pungency. Delicious! 5 stars! Saving in the freezer to add to our Thanksgiving table.
Jessie Paul
This was great! I don't know if my broiler wasn't hot enough, but I wasn't getting much blistering on the skins so it ended up being about 25 min that I cooked the eggplants...despite poking holes, one of the ends exploded, too! They still turned out soft and smoky, though, maybe I will buy a grill one day. I just stirred some smoked paprika and ground cumin at the end and topped with olive oil and cilantro, which was what I had. Even tasted good the next day!
jw
If, instead of a grill, I used a broiler to "blister and char" the eggplant until it is "completely soft", would I be missing out on flavor?
Dsave
I love baba ghanouj. It’s an easy, tasty vegan dish from the Middle East. If this is your first time trying it, eat a dollop, along with hommous, falafel, salad, and pita. Tasty and healthy. I could eat that every day and not get tired of it. And If you need a drink to go with this, throw some mango and ice in the blender. Mmmm.
Sarah
Don’t understand why it’s not listed as baba ghanoush or even mentioned in the notes…
cjn
Made this many times, first time commenting. It's easy. Delicious. Flexible. Was going to make ratatouille today, was craving this instead (yeah, it's that good). Best if you can char the eggplant over a charcoal grill (the smoky flavor is awesome!), but really good broiled in an oven, too! YUM.
mimi in sicily
This is a good recipe. I keep several heads of roasted garlic in the fridge and add several peeled cloves Instead of the raw garlic. The resulting garlic flavor is very smooth. Also I raise my own cayenne peppers which I dry and grind. Also a wonderful addition
Carol in Boulder
This is delicious but I found the raw garlic a bit strong. Next time I will may gently sauté the garlic first to soften the flavor.
Lee Ellman
I know it is a sin, but it tastes really good to just use the eggplant, garlic and mayonnaise in place of the lemon juice, tahini, herbs and spices. Very different from anything authentic but nonetheless very good.
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