Middle Eastern mezze no.6: Baba ganoush

 

Back to the Middle East for a few days and then onto new things. The boyfriend will breathe a sigh of relief (a rather garlicky one).

Next on the list is baba ganoush, which I have just discovered means "My father is spoiled like a child by my mother" – and I thought the Turkish version was a mouthful! I have also always called it a dip but, according to Mark Hix, in Turkey it is considered a salad:

You might think this is a dip, but I'm insisting it's a salad because that's what my local Turkish restaurant calls it. Their aubergine salat is more roughly chopped. My smoother version is one of my favourite mezze dishes, and forms part of a salady selection to start a meal with.

Traditionally, the aubergines (eggplants) would be roasted over a flame on a BBQ. If, like me, you don’t have a BBQ, you can achieve the same smoky flavour by roasting it directly over the flame of a gas ring.

As with my recipe for hummous, I only use a small amount of raw garlic (roasting the remainder) because I find too much raw garlic can be unpleasantly spicy, as well as causing bad breath. Again, you don't have to heat the oven to roast a few cloves of garlic - just place it skin on under a hot grill for 5 to 10 minutes, turning once.

This recipe makes one generous bowl, enough to serve with flatbread, Turkish bread or crudités as a starter or as part of a main mezze selection. Also delicious as a condiment with lamb.

Ingredients

Olive oil (approx 1 tbsp)
2 (medium) aubergines
2 cloves roast garlic
1 small clove (raw) garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
1 tbsp tahini
1 small handful parsley, finely chopped (approx 1 tbsp)
1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Rub the aubergine in olive oil and roast the whole on a barbeque or directly over the flames of a gas ring, turning frequently until the skin is uniformly blackened. Leave to cool, then cut in half and scrape out the flesh with a spoon, discarding the skin. Put the flesh in a bowl and use a fork to mash to a rough paste.

Mash the roast garlic with a fork and add to the aubergine along with the raw garlic, lemon juice, tahini, parsley, and cumin, if you are using it and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the flavours as necessary.