Next combo for this week is an appetizer from Lebanon; baba ganoush with pita chips. Baba ganoush is an eggplant dip prepared with tahini. Pulp of roasted eggplant is blended with tahini and seasoned to taste.
It is usually served with pita bread and I chose to serve it with some pita chips. Since I am doing combos this week and wanted to make both the food items in my combo at home. I did not want to serve the dip with store bought pita bread and instead made pita chips at home with store bought pita bread.
Baba ganoush is also popular in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Armenia. A variation of the dish is also found in other middle eastern nations.
There are many versions of Lebanese baba ganoush online and most of the recipes called for eggplant, tahini, cloves, salt & lime juice. Using all those online recipes as a guide, I made the dip to my palate.
Eggplant can be roasted in the oven, on the grill or on direct fire on the stovetop. Though it takes longer to roast in the oven, this way one need not keep an eye on it and can carry on with other work. Roasting eggplant in the oven is time consuming but if making a large batch, it is very convenient.
Once the eggplant is roasted, the skin is peeled, seeds removed and the pulp is mixed with tahini and seasoned to taste. I sprinkled some paprika for garnish.
Gosh, you must be tired seeing so many pictures of baba ganoush & pita chips! What can I say, there days when I have so much to write and very few pictures to share like yesterday, and then there are posts like today where I do not have much to say but way too many pictures than the post requires. If you are not bored and still have patience, lets move on to the recipe.
Pita Chips - recipe here
Baba Ganoush
Total Time: 1 hour
Preparation: 15 minutes (includes time to cool the roasted eggplant)
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Yields: ⅓ - ½ cup baba ganoush
Ingredients:
- 185 gms or 1 medium sized Eggplant
- ½ tbsp. Tahini
- 1 small Garlic Clove
- ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ - ¾ tsp. Lime Juice
- ½ tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil + more for drizzle
- Paprika for garnish
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet or an oven safe bowl with aluminum foil or parchment.
- Apply oil to eggplant and roast in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, turning the eggplant once in between. By now the eggplant will shrink in size and change color.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- When eggplant cools, peel of the skin, cut open the eggplant and remove the seeds.
- Place the eggplant in a colander for some time to drain the juices. If not baba ganoush could be liquidy.
- Take all the ingredients except paprika in a food processor and run until all the ingredients are blended in and forms a thick paste.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, pour some extra olive on top, garnish with paprika. Olives, parsley, cucumbers can also used as garnish.
- Serve with pita chips or pita bread.
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