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Smoky, tangy baba ghanouj

Smoky from the fire-roasted eggplants, creamy from the smooth and silky tahina, tart and tangy from the pomegranate molasses, this baba ghanouj hits all the best notes.
Course: Appetizer, Dinner, lunch, Snack
Cuisine: Egyptian, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Palestinian
Keyword: appetizer, Baba ghanoug, Baba ghanouj, Baba Ghanoush, dip, eggplant, mezze, pomegranate, smokey, tahina, tahini, vegan

Equipment

  • Kitchen tongs
  • chopping board
  • chef's knife

Ingredients

For the baba ghanouj

  • 2 lbs eggplant Italian eggplant or other medium size eggplant preferred
  • 1/3 cup tahina/ tahini
  • 2 cloves garlic mashed in mortar and pestle or finely minced
  • 1 lemon medium size
  • 1 tsp salt Diamon kosher salt; if using table salt reduce to 1/2 tsp
  • 1 tsp cumin ground
  • 2 TBS pomegranate molasses

Garnishes

  • olive oil good quality
  • 2 TBS parsley finely chopped

Other optional garnish ideas

  • Pomegranate arils optional but highly recommended if in season!
  • smoked paprika
  • toasted pine nuts

Instructions

Roasting the eggplant

  • Place eggplants on the grate of a gas stove directly over fire and begin roasting at med-high flame. Eggplants should be washed and any stickers removed.
  • Using tongs, carefully turn and rotate eggplants occasionally over the flame to ensure they are charred on all sides.
  • Continue roasting and turning eggplants until they become soft and deflated and are thoroughly charred.
  • Once fully roasted, carefully transfer to a medium size bowl. Cover with a plate and set aside to cool.
  • Once cooled, remove eggplant skins. It is ok if a few black specks of charred skin remain, as these contribute to the smokey flavor.
  • On a cutting board, roughly chop the eggplants into chunks, then using a chef's knife chop the eggplant over and over back and forth until cut into small chunks.

Making the baba ghanouj

  • Transfer roasted and chopped eggplant to a mixing bowl.
  • Add tahina, garlic, salt, cumin.
  • Add the juice of HALF your lemon and 1 TBS of pomegranate molasses.
  • Mix ingredients with a fork, mashing as you go until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Taste and adjust flavours. If desired, add additional pomegranate molasses and lemon juice, and salt. If it gets too assertively salty or tangy for your taste, add a little more tahina.
  • Transfer to refrigerator for at least one hour, preferably longer or overnight, as this allows the flavours to meld.

Serving

  • When ready to serve, plate and drizzle generously with olive oil. Garnish with parsley and any other optional garnishes you choose. Serve with warm pita, or your desired bread.