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Roasted Garlic Baba Ganoush
Baba ganoush is a rich, creamy, and smoky aubergine dip originating from the Levant region. I love adding roasted garlic to mine – its deep, rich sweetness pairs so beautifully with the smoky aubergine flesh.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 aubergines
- 1 large garlic bulb
- 4 tbsp good-quality tahini (see Notes)
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 lemon, juice
- ½ tsp ground cumin
To serve:
- small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- za’atar, optional
- flatbreads and/or crudités
Instructions
- Gas hob method: place the aubergines directly over a gas burner set to high. Cook, turning frequently, until completely blackened and collapsing, around 10 minutes.
- Oven method: heat your oven grill to high. Place the aubergines on a foil-lined baking tray and prick all over with a fork. Grill, turning occasionally, until blackened and blistered on the outside and completely softened in the middle, 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the strength of your grill. Note: this method won’t yield as smoky an aubergine as the open flame method, but it’s better than simply roasting it.
- Whichever method you use, transfer the charred aubergine to a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave to steam for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the burnt skins.
- Mash the flesh with a fork and transfer to a sieve to drain – this will concentrate the flavour of your baba ganoush.
- In the meantime, you can prep the roasted garlic. Heat your oven to 200°C / fan 180°C. Remove the papery outer layers of the garlic bulbs, ensuring you don’t loosen the cloves or remove all of the skin. Using a sharp knife, cut the tips off the garlic bulb to expose the cloves.
- Place each of the garlic bulbs on a small piece of aluminium foil. Drizzle with oil, wrap up into a parcel, place on in a small baking tin and roast for 45 minutes.
- Remove the garlic bulbs from the foil and leave to cool for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the garlic cloves.
- Place the drained aubergine flesh, roasted garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon and cumin in a medium mixing bowl and season generously with salt. Mix vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, or until creamy and emulsified. Taste and adjust the salt level to your liking.
- Transfer to a bowl, top with the fresh parsley, a sprinkle of za’atar and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, then serve with flatbreads and/or crudités and enjoy.
Notes
- Not all tahini is created equal. Poor-quality tahini is thick, clumpy, gritty, and bitter. Good-quality tahini is smooth, pourable and balanced, not bitter. Where possible, I recommend avoiding supermarket own-brand tahini and opting for Middle-Eastern versions instead. Some of my favourite tahini brands are Baracke, Al Nakhil, Al Taj and Belazu.
- Storage: the baba ganoush will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
