Baba Ghanouj

Abdulkader Niori, chef of Lebanese Taverna, adds yogurt to his recipe for this classic Middle Eastern eggplant dip.

Serves six.

2 pounds of eggplant to provide two cups when cooked
1/3 cup tahini paste (available from Middle Eastern and large supermarkets)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and pureed with salt
3 tablespoons yogurt (optional)

For the garnish:
Light drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac (a spice powder available at Middle Eastern markets) or 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley finely chopped or 1 tablespoon of pomegranate seeds

Bake, grill or broil the eggplant. If you broil it till charred on all sides, you will have a better, smoky flavor.

To bake or grill, slice the eggplant lengthwise. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put eggplant, sliced-side-up, on the baking sheet and cook for about 40 minutes or until it collapses.

To broil, either grill it over a barbecue, turning it till charred on all sides, or set it under a hot broiler on a sheet of aluminium foil until charred on all sides, or lay it close to a stove-top flame and turn till charred on all sides.

Let cool. If baked or grilled, scoop out the inside with a spoon and put in a bowl; if broiled, peel off the charred skin.

Purée the garlic and salt together with a pestle and mortar, or squeeze the garlic through a fine press. Add to the eggplant in a shallow dish and purée roughly with a pair of sharp knives, one in each hand. (You could do this in spurts in a blender but the result will not be so textured.)

Add the tahini and mix well together. Last, add the lemon juice slowly (then the optional yogurt) and mix. The mixture will thicken at first from the lemon juice reacting with the tahini. Add salt to taste, put into a bowl and serve with warm pita bread.

This recipe first appeared in the NorthWest Current. Photo Bill Petros/The Current.

Related Ingredients...