At the farmers’ market the other day, I picked up a few beautiful Rosa Bianca eggplants. They are Italian, small in size, and tender. Their color is amazing – bright purple hues with marbled white mixed in. They are known for their mildly delicious taste.
Baba Ganoush is one of my go-to appetizers. I like making it alongside other dips, like hummus or fava bean dip. I also like not telling certain people what it is until after they’ve tasted, if at all. Certain people have this weird thing against eggplant (uhhm, my hubbie). But this dip is so delicious even eggplant-haters will like it. If you like eggplant and you’ve never tried Baba Ganoush, it will be a special treat for you.
So, I made mine a little on the garlicy side, of course. You’ll want to add less if you’re a little garlic-shy. It’s good to keep the skin on the eggplants until you’ve roasted them. This will allow the pulp to stay nice and tender which will be perfect for pureeing.
I like adding a handful of pistachios but I didn’t have any on hand. Instead, I added almonds to the mix. They tasted pretty good, though I still prefer pistachios.
Baba Ganoush
8 oz. eggplant (about 3 small Rosa Blanca eggplants)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
10 almonds
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 tsp. grapeseed oil
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 400F. Place eggplant on baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes. Fill a bowl up with cold water. Dunk eggplant in the bowl and remove. Peel skin off eggplants. In a blender or food processor, place eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, almonds, tahini, oil, and salt and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate before serving and serve with pita bread or crackers. Enjoy!
Serves 2.
