#1,554: Baba Ganoush (Roasted Eggplant Dip)

At first, I didn't love the texture of this because of all of the seeds that were in my eggplant.  I felt like the dip was too chunky and crunchy but only because of the seeds.  I planned on throwing this out...but then I tried it about 12 hours later with a pretzel crisp and I enjoyed it so much more.  I don't know if it was because the flavors had time to meld longer and better or because the crunchiness of the pretzels masked the seeds, but regardless, I really did enjoy this.  It sure isn't the prettiest thing I've ever eaten, but it was good. 

2 medium eggplants (about 2 pound)
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil, optional

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and turn broiler on (high heat). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Place eggplants onto the baking sheet and prick in several places using a fork. This helps steam escape while the eggplants roast.  Broil eggplants 2 minutes on all sides. The skin will darken a little and begin to smell smoky, adding lots of flavor to the dip.

Turn broiler off, but do not remove eggplants from the oven. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Roast eggplants 25 to 30 minutes, or until very soft. Cool 10 to 15 minutes until easily handled.

(I did the rest of the steps in my food processor to make combining the ingredients easier…)  Meanwhile, combine tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and the salt in a medium bowl. Set aside so the flavors meld.

Split the eggplants, scrape out the flesh and add to the tahini mixture. (Discard excess liquid and skins).

 Mash eggplant into tahini mixture with a fork until somewhat smooth with some texture remaining. Cool to room temperature then stir in parsley and drizzle the top with olive oil.