Baba Ghanouj

5 from 10 votes

This Baba Ghanouj is a creamy and smoky Mediterranean dip made from roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. It’s perfect for dipping or spreading, offering a delightful combination of flavors that are both rich and tangy.

Course Appetiser

Cuisine middle eastern

Keyword Baba Ghanoush, Baba Ghanoush recipe, Homemade Baba Ghanoush

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 206

Author Erren Hart

Ingredients

2 pounds eggplant approx 2 small-to-medium eggplants
1 head of garlic
olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice more if necessary
¼ cup tahini
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for garnish
1–2 teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
fresh ground pepper to taste
paprika and parsley for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 425F.
For the Roasted Garlic.
Peel the loose paper off the garlic, leaving the tight paper skins. Keeping the head intact, using a sharp knife, slice off the top 1/2", exposing the tops of the cloves.
Place garlic on a sheet of foil and drizzle the top liberally with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, wrap the foil up around the garlic, place on a baking dish and roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes.
While the garlic starts to roast, place the eggplant halves face down on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and roast for 35-45 minutes (placing them in the oven when the garlic has 35 minutes left on the timer). you’ll know the eggplants done when the skin shrivels.
Remove the garlic and eggplants from the oven and Set aside to cool enough to handle.
To remove the garlic from the peel, squeeze the root end and the soft garlic will slide right out set aside.
Scoop out the fleshy center of the eggplant with a spoon and run a knife through it to cut into strips. Discard the skins.
Place the eggplant flesh in a mesh strainer over a mixing bowl, then transfer the eggplant flesh to the strain. Remove as much moisture from the eggplant as possible, let the eggplant rest for a few minutes and then press and shake the eggplant to release some more moisture.
Put the eggplant into the food processor with the roasted garlic. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, tahini, salt, cumin, smoked paprika, pepper, and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
Taste and more add salt, adjust spices, and add more lemon juice as needed.
Transfer the baba ganoush to a serving bowl and lightly drizzle olive oil and top then sprinkle with paprika, and parsley.

Notes

On Roasting Garlic

Exact roasting time and depth of the color of the garlic varies. The size of the heads, the type of garlic, and how fresh it is can affect how long it takes to cook. Start checking them around 40 minutes in and continue cooking until you're happy with the color — it’s very hard to overcook garlic this way!

Tips

Perfect this recipe by tasting before serving. Think it needs more spices, seasoning, or lemon juice? Adjust and taste as you go to make it perfect!
I recommend using the smallest eggplants you can. The younger it is, the sweeter and more tender the flesh. Larger, more mature eggplants have more bitterness and seeds which can be mushy and unpleasant.
After cooking, remove as much moisture from the eggplant as possible, let the eggplant rest for a few minutes and then press and shake the eggplant in the strainer to release more moisture.
For the creamiest result, add the oil slowly in a thin stream as it blends instead of just adding it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
If your Baba Ganoush tastes bitter, add a half teaspoon of baking soda at a time and blend well (tasting in between) to remove bitterness from the dish.

Nutrition