Creamy and smoky, this easy-to-make homemade baba ganoush is destined to make its way onto your crackers, carrot sticks, and into your heart. Smoky eggplants, zesty lemon, velvety tahini, and savory garlic come together for a richly complex, slightly earthy, and irresistible dip with nutty undertones - you'll want to put it on everything!
Ingredients
2mediumglobe eggplants
3tablespoonstahini, see notes
2tablespoonslemon juice, fresh is best!
1-2teaspoonsea salt
2clovesgarlic, finely minced
Olive oil, sesame seeds, and minced parsley, for toppings
Instructions
Roast the eggplants in your oven: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Pierce the eggplants a few times with a fork or knife. Place the eggplants on a baking dish and roast in your oven for 30-45 minutes, turning halfway through. The eggplants are cooked when they are very soft, the skin is dark, and they have caved in. Roast the eggplants on your BBQ: Preheat your BBQ to medium-high heat. Pierce the eggplants a few times with a fork or knife. Place the eggplants on your BBQ and let them cook for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
2 medium globe eggplants
Set a strainer over a bowl and place the eggplants into the strainer. Use a knife to open them up a little (so they cool faster), and then set them aside to cool completely.
Once the eggplants are cool, peel them and discard the skin. Save the juice that collected in the bowl.
Place the creamy insides into your food processor, add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of salt, and pulse until mostly smooth. Taste and add more salt, if needed. For a smokier tasting baba ganoush, add a tablespoon or two of the reserved juice.
For the best flavor, let the baba ganoush rest in your fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving then top with any or all of the toppings.
Olive oil, sesame seeds, and minced parsley
Notes
Make sure to use tahini you love in this recipe. If it tastes bitter, your baba ganoush will also be bitter. It's also best if the tahini is slightly runny. If yours has thickened in your fridge, let it come to room temperature and give it a good stir. We love adding some of the juice that collects on the plate when the eggplants cool into the baba ganoush. It gives the dip a lot of smoky flavor, but the added liquid will thin the dip a little. A few drops of liquid smoke will work as well.