Baba Ghanoush

Rich, smoky baba ghanoush is a staple dip throughout the Levant. Made from char-grilled or oven-roasted eggplant mixed with lemon juice, garlic, tahini, and olive oil, this flavor-packed dip has a complexity that many spreads can only envy. If you’re a fan of this appetizer, you’ve likely had less-than-ideal versions when ordering out. My homemade recipe not only nails the thick texture, but perfectly balances the sweet and smoky flavors. Garlic lovers, watch out—this might just become your new party fave.

What Is Baba Ghanoush?

This smoky eggplant dip hails from the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, where it regularly shows up as a meze (appetizer), served with plenty of pita. The dish makes ingenious use of eggplant’s superpower: its nearly indestructible skin. The eggplant is grilled until its skin is charred beyond recognition. This might appear self-evidently wrong, but it’s necessary to enact the magical transformation inside: The flesh softens to pudding and picks up the smoky flavor of the grill. The flesh is then scooped out, drained, and mashed into a puree along with lemon juice, garlic, tahini, and lots of olive oil. The end result hits all the notes: rich and smoky, nutty and earthy, sharp and bright, bitter and sweet.

How To Make Baba Ghanoush

INGREDIENTS

• Garlic: As an inveterate garlic-lover, I chose to double down on the garlic in this dip. I use roasted garlic for its sweet, rounded allium flavor, then I stir in some finely grated garlic at the end for a bit of aromatic pungency.
• Oil: Extra-virgin olive oil provides silkiness and that extra bit of mouth-coating richness that any self-respecting dip needs.
• Eggplant: Baba ghanoush is no place for narrow, skinny-jeans eggplants. What we want is an eggplant with a higher flesh-to-skin ratio. What we want is your standard medium to large supermarket eggplant (aka Italian eggplant). Eggplants increase in bitterness as they age (they’re not alone), so we want them fresh. Look for eggplants that feel firm and have shiny, taut skin—all positive signs.
• Lemon Juice: The bass-note flavors of the eggplant—musky, earthy, alkaline—demand something in the treble for balance. Lemon juice is just that something.
• Tahini: This nutty sesame seed paste provides the ballast for the dip. It does tend to separate in the jar, so be sure to stir well to recombine before measuring.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the broiler. Now let’s prep the roasted garlic. Using a chef’s knife, carefully slice away to the top of the head of garlic, exposing the cloves.

Place the garlic head, cut side up, on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Gather the foil together in a bundle and twist together to seal.

On to the eggplant. Prick the eggplants all over with a fork to create steam vents; we do not want an eggplant explosion.

Line a large baking sheet with foil (for easy clean-up) and place the garlic head and eggplants on the baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and broil, turning the eggplants occasionally with tongs, until the eggplants are blackened outside and extremely tender inside. This should take 30 to 35 minutes, but there is a wide variance in broiler power, so start checking early but keep in mind that undercooking is the only no-no—you want to overcook the eggplant. Test for doneness by inserting a paring knife into the center. If it meets with any resistance, keep on broiling.

Once the eggplant is charred and has collapsed into pudding, let it cool for 10 minutes before splitting it open and scooping the flesh into a colander; discard the skin—its work is done. Let the eggplant drain for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. At that point, scrape the flesh into a large bowl, squeeze in the roasted garlic cloves, and add the lemon juice. Using a fork, mash it all together until it’s one homogeneous mass. Add the tahini and 1 Tbsp. olive oil and grate in 1 garlic clove (feel free to skip the grated garlic if you prefer a slightly sweeter dip); stir to combine. Season with salt to taste.

You’re almost there. All that remains is to transfer the baba ghanoush to a serving bowl, drizzle with oil, and garnish with parsley and red pepper flakes. Serve with pita and/or sliced vegetables for dipping.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Overcooking is the object: The worst thing you can do is undercook the eggplant. Rather, set your compunctions aside and cook the eggplant until it is well and truly blackened and charred. Only that way will the flesh become suitably smoky and creamy.
• Don’t skip the draining: You might be tempted to go straight from broiler to baba—don’t be. The flesh needs to drain for the full thirty minutes so that all you’re left with is silky pulp and none of the bitter juice.

Storage

If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for around 3 to 4 days.