Friday, October 4, 2013

Baba Ghanoush: Take 2

Let me start off by saying this dish isn't the most appealin-looking. When I pulled it out the other day, Husband Jeff asked if I was eating cold ground beef.

My first batch of baba ghanoush was fine, but the sesame oil made it taste "too Asian", so I wanted to try again.  I made this recipe with more eggplant from our garden.

Inspiration

baba ghanoush
Rachael Ray roasted eggplant dip

I didn't change anything other than the amount of eggplant (I used what was ripe at the time) and the cooking method since the original cooked it whole. 

Ingredients

  • 3 small-medium eggplant
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (I use bottled)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

 Do NOT cut the eggplant into rounds, it will be a complete pain in the butt to try to remove the skin after it's roasted.  I ended up having to cut it off each individual piece.  I recommend you cut the eggplant into quarters, top to bottom. 

Roast the eggplant at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes on a cookie sheet.   

When the eggplant is done, scoop it out of it's skin and put it into a food processor along with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. 
Eggplant dip

Verdict 

Decent, but kind of bland. I might prefer the Asian version instead. 

I think next time I would increase the amount of vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic to give it more punch, it was rather boring.   Maybe it could use some hot sauce?  Or smoked paprika?  I always think of baba ghanoush as the eggplant version of hummus, so maybe it would work well with hummus flavors like roasted red pepper?

I like having this for a morning snack at work or to supplement my lunch or dinner.  I have it with slices of bell pepper, so it's a good way to eat veggies. 

Wanna Chat?

I turned off the 'leave a comment' feature, so if you want to share what you're thinking about this or anything else, drop me an email at jhk1013 (at) gmail.com. It's so much more cozy than a comment, plus we can have a real conversation!