Baba Ganoush (also known as Baba Ganouj, Eggplant Dip, and Betinjan bi Tahini)

Guest Recipe By Marsha Prillwitz 08/05/15, and a little added by Betsy Vail

My friend, Marsha, was so kind as to share her baba ganoush with me and I fell in love with it at first bite!!! YUMMMMM!!!! Thank you, Marsha, for sharing your delicious family recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, about 1½ pounds 
• 2 lemons, juiced (1 lemon = about 2 Tbs juice)
• 4 Tbs sesame tahini
• 1 Tbs kosher salt
• olive oil (optional)
• parsley, cilantro, paprika, sliced radishes, pomegranate seeds (optional for garnish)

Directions:

1. Pierce the skin of the eggplant with a fork in 3 places. 
2. Grill on a charcoal barbecue (for nice smoky flavor) until tender. If you have a gas grill, use wood chips to add smoke flavor. 
3. When cool, peel away the charred skin and put the eggplant meat into a food processor with other ingredients. Blend until reaching the desired consistency. Some people prefer chunky, others the very smooth versions, like peanut butter!  
4. Add tahini and salt to bowl. Blend until not quite smooth.
5. Add up to 4 Tbs lemon juice one Tbs at a time, tasting the mixture each time. Add juice to taste.
6. Chill.
7. Place in a shallow bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and/or garnish with finely chopped parsley, cilantro, paprika, sliced radishes, or pomegranate seeds.  
8. Serve with pocket bread cut into wedges.  

The large Black Beauty eggplant is the traditional variety used for this dish, but the smaller Asian varieties may be used as well.  This is a standard item for the mahzat (appetizer) table of most Middle Eastern families.

Note: Marsha's original recipe included 2 optional cloves of mashed garlic (but her dear dad liked it better without garlic too). Also, instead of grilling the eggplant, it can be broiled at 400 F in an oven until tender.

Delicious Additions:

• cumin
• coriander
• onion powder

Photo courtesy of Marsha Prillwitz

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