One of my husband’s many talents is his green thumb. He is a dedicated orchid grower, but he particularly loves to grow things that we can eat. Our garden is currently bursting with corn, chillis, cherry tomatoes, basil, and eggplants, all watered by hand with a watering can during this drought and current water restrictions.
Eggplant (well-oiled) is fantastic to throw on your BBQ or char-grilled for 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly charred and tender. Keep a lid on while cooking so they don’t dry out. Put the BBQ’d eggplant in a salad with baby bocconcini, chopped tomatoes and basil with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
This week we have so many eggplants ready to eat, so I thought I’d try my hand at baba ganoush which is a Middle Eastern eggplant dip, served with pita bread or alongside barbecued lamb, with some veggies.
It doesn’t look that sexy and mine has an orange tinge as I used smoked paprika to add a huge burst of flavour. The taste of eggplant is not everyone’s cup of tea, but a good way to use eggplants when in season, particularly if you grow them. And an added bonus it is actually a healthy snack option!
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplant
- olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3 tablespoons smoked paprika (add more or less depending on taste)
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lemons
- salt (optional, to taste)
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthways after removing the top. Score the flesh sides in crisscross, ensuring you don’t pierce the skin. Brush top with olive oil. Place on baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake flesh-side facing up for 45 minutes or until soft. Note – I tried baking flesh side down but the juices stay in the vegetable if baked flesh side up.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to touch, use a spoon to scoop the eggplant from the skin. Be sure not to take any skin during this process
Peel the garlic and place in a bowl with the tahini, cumin, olive oil, and eggplant. Squeeze the lemons into the mixture. Mix enthusiastically by hand, adding smoked paprika to taste. A little salt may be needed to lift the taste.
I tried mixing both by hand and with a mixer. For my taste, the mixer blitzes the mixture too much. It is more interesting if it is a bit chunky.
Transfer to a bowl for serving.
Toast some Lebanese bread and break into small pieces. Serve as a dip with drinks.
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