This is one of those alluring recipes with few ingredients that should be filed under ‘food alchemy’; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Quite. It’s made in pretty much the same way as hummous, but with soft, smoky aubergine replacing the chickpeas making it altogether a far more interesting alternative.
There are many versions of an aubergine dip from various different countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, and with as many different spellings. I had this on the menu recently but called it ‘Aubergine Caviar’, which strictly speaking it isn’t due to the inclusion of tahini, but the dish wasn’t selling so well when it was on as ‘baba ghanoush’. I know. It beggars belief.
Eat this exactly as you would other mezze style dishes, ideally with an appropriate flat bread.
Ingredients
2 x aubergines
2 x small cloves of garlic
2 x tablespoons tahini
2 x tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon of salt (smoked sea salt flakes would be perfect if you can find any)
4 x tablespoons of lemon juice (approx. half a lemon)
Pre-heat the oven to 220⁰C.
Prick each aubergine half-a-dozen times with a fork and roast in the oven on a baking tray for 45 mins, turning them over half way through.
The aubergines are ready when they look overdone and have lost all shape and form.
Slice each one in half length-ways and allow to cool slightly before scraping the flesh into a bowl, using a spoon to scrape off every last little bit from the skin.
The aubergine will leach water the longer you leave it, which is only aubergine flavoured water so you can either ignore it and have a looser finished texture, or wait 20 mins and strain it off. Up to you.
Add all the other ingredients to the aubergine and mash together with a fork; I opt for this method rather than using the food processor, preferring a rough and ready finish rather than a smooth puree.
The finished dish will keep in the fridge for up to three days but is best when eaten at room temperature.