Babaganoush is a summertime staple at our house. This is one of my favorite dips of all time. It’s rich and full of flavor, and goes well with raw veggie sticks, grilled eggplant slices, chips, and as a side to a Middle Eastern meal. It also freezes well, so this is a great option for using up summer produce.
(Makes about 2 cups)
Babaganoush
What You’ll Need
- 3 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds total)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced, or 4-5 cloves of roasted garlic* (my preference, see note below)
- 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (Pimentón de la Vera, or Ahumado) (optional)
- a dash (or more) of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
- sea salt
- fresh pepper
*There are lots of more complicated ways to roast garlic, but I just throw a whole head of it into the oven while I’m broiling the eggplant. It gets soft, and the flavor mellows and deepens.
What to Do:
- Instructions
- Cut the eggplants in half, length-wise and roast under a broiler, flipping halfway through. They need to be well-browned on each side, and smooshy all over. Bonus points: Grill over a fire, for a nice, smoky flavor.
- Place the eggplant in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Let it cool (seriously!) and then peel the skin off. I sometimes leave a little bit of charred skin on for flavor. Some liquid will pool in the bowl– don’t pour it off– it’s sweet and delicious!
- Add the spices, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, the tahini and olive oil, and the fresh herbs to the bowl. I use an immersion blender to blend it all really smooth. Of course you could use a regular blender or a food processor. I have often made this just with a fork, a nice chunky version– naturally, you would need to chop the ingredients pretty thoroughly first if you go that route.
- Taste and season (does it need more salt, more of a little kick from cayenne, is the tartness about right?).
- Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with chopped herbs.
This is one of my favorite summer foods, perfect as a snack or to be packed in a picnic. We took this with us to the beach for our rowboat picnic, and enjoyed it with cucumbers, radishes and potato chips. Enjoy!
Oh, yum! I love babaganoush! We are totally gonna try your recipe this summer!
And you are in the perfect spot for year-round eggplants and herbs! Lucky!
yum, yum, YUM!!! love this post. and every photo is good enough to eat!!
Oh, good! I love talking about food, so as long as other people enjoy it, I will keep it up. 🙂
That is my kind of cooking, both in content and style. We love babaganoush around here! I roast and freeze extra eggplant in summer for a smokey treat in winter.
Dan, I have never had any success with growing eggplant! I probably would have done alright in California, but in OR it was a bust, and has been here so far, as well. I guess those hot humid summers are great for the nightshades, huh? And freezing roasted eggplant is SUCH a great idea!
Aaaah. A chef after my own heart. I almost never follow a recipe (I’m definitely a never RFM type!) and if I try, I’m almost sure to have a complete disaster because I forget to read ahead, skip steps, or various other fatal flaws. I prefer to just glance at a few beautiful photos, get a general sense of the ingredients, and then figure out my own road map. So for me, this recipe is perfect. We are currently growing 4 different types of eggplant in our garden and if we manage to produce anything from them, I’ll make some baba first thing. We get a really nice Israeli tahini from a mediterranean market near our house that is much smoother and thinner (read “less pasty”) then most tahini’s that I can find in your typical supermarket. If you can find some, check it out.
Very cool about the different types of eggplant in your garden! I remember the first time I saw eggplant was when my grandmother was growing some in a skinny little plot alongside her house– it couldn’t really be considered a garden, but she put that little strip of dirt to good use. I must have been about six, and those purple, bulbous vegetables were so fascinating! I don’t remember how she cooked them, though.
Here, we tend to only be able to find one or two kinds of tahini. I would love to find a Middle Eastern market in our area– those are my favorite food shops ever! There is an Arab section in London that I am dying to visit. We have driven through twice on our way to the city center, but I would love to make a day when we just parked there and explored the shops and restaurants– we don’t get a whole lot of global flavor over here in Suffolk!
Delicious! I must try this. Great photos and instructions.
Great! I’m sure you guys have some gorgeous eggplants over there!
Looks great! I’ll have to give this a go try pretty soon. We don’t do a lot of eggplant around here, so I have to get on it.
Yeah, I’d say this is probably a winner even for people who aren’t crazy about eggplant– it’s a way to get past the texture issues some people have. But I have often spread it on grilled eggplant slices– there is no such thing as eggplant overload for me!
Great recipe. I love it. I am looking to make it tonight these dish. I hope it will be really a good one.
Enjoy!
This recipe is right up my alley! I LOVE babaganoush. Anything eggplant is definitely for me! And don’t get me started on tahini. I eat it plain. Have you ever taken a huge, freshly peeled carrot and dipped it straight in the jar? DO it. It will change you life… but he careful I have definitely sat with a jar of tahini and a pound of carrots and called it dinner. 🙂 So good!
Love your carrot and tahini idea! We love to make tahini sauces and dressings, but I don’t know if I’ve used it as a dip just straight before. I’m afraid the jar will be gone too quickly and I’ll be kicking myself when it’s time to make babaganoush again!
I like this style of recipe blogging. It’s nice that there’s “wiggle” room to tweak the recipe to the maker’s tastes. I’d love to see more posts like this! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
-Kristen
Oh, good! Thanks for the feedback– I have more food-sharing planned!
Hello! Just wanted to let you know that your beautiful looking babaganoush is featured over at BritMum’s Foodie Round-up this month https://www.britmumsblog.com/2012/06/britmums-foodie-round-up-june-global-food/
Awesome! Thank you for using my post!
good reciepy
I love this natural and organic feel your way type of cooking!
How did I miss this gorgeous and delicious post?? Love it! Thank you – and I love Babaganoush!
So glad you found it in the end, Marilyn!
Looks great! Do you take out the eggplants seeds before adding?
Sorry for such a late reply Sarah, but no– you don’t need to take the seeds out– they will blend nicely with everything else.
I am new to making babaganoush but I’m a believer!!!! I so wish that my mom would have made this when I was akid. I recently bought a nutrabullet and the recipe bookhad a recipe simular to your but uou used different spices. I could eat it on just about anything lol. I’m going to make your recipe my next batch
I am new to making babaganoush but I’m a believer!!!! I so wish that my mom would have made this when I was akid. I recently bought a nutrabullet and the recipe bookhad a recipe simular to your but uou used different spices. I could eat it on just about anything lol. I’m going to make your recipe my next batch
I am new to making babaganoush but I’m a believer!!!! I so wish that my mom would have made this when I was akid. I recently bought a nutrabullet and the recipe bookhad a recipe simular to your but uou used different spices. I could eat it on just about anything lol. I’m going to make your recipe my next batch
Okay so babaghanoush is an Arabic mezza, after you roast the eggplant soak it in cold water, it makes it easier to peal, and cools down quick.
Thanks for that tip– I hadn’t heard of doing that before!
is it necessary to remove any of the seeds before blending? I thought I read that somewhere that the seeds add to any bitterness.
I have never removed the seeds, and don’t usually have any issues with bitterness.
Ariana,
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who love to eat from the farm share.
I appreciate your help in making this index better!
The dish is looking so delicious that I am dying to try them. Very very thanks for sharing this blog. I loved it so much.
I love them because i tried them yesterday and serve in my home party. Everyone love them. Thanks for sharing.