Baba Ganoush Recipe – A Middle Eastern Side Dish With a Kick

I love good dips, especially when they’re from the middle east and/or don’t involve ranch dressing! Don’t get me wrong, ranch has its place (usually in the trash) but this is, by far, one of my favorites. It’s a baba ganoush recipe I modified slightly from a recipe I got from a man at a farmer’s market. I think you’ll love it, too.

Unlike most baba ganoush recipes, this one has a bit of a kick to it because I add a bit of cayenne pepper. If you have an aversion to heat, you can leave it out, but I recommend trying it anyway. It’s not as hot as you might think, but it’s definitely there!

Here’s what you’ll need to make it. The measurements are at the end of the post. My baba ganoush is a savory blend of eggplant, garlic, tahini, olive oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper powder, salt, and cumin powder.

Baba Ganoush recipe: Start fresh

The key to a great baba ganoush recipe is fresh eggplant – sometimes referred to as aubergine, if you’re fancier than me! You gotta start with fresh eggplant.

How to prepare eggplant for baba ganoush

Peel the eggplants and slice them up – about 1 inch/2cm thick. Lightly cover them in salt and let them sit for a while in a colander. This pulls the moisture out of the eggplant and usually takes about an hour or so.

When that’s done, rinse them off and pat them dry. Then, pop them in a 400°F (200°C) oven on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes, turning them halfway through. You’ll want a little bit of a char on them, but not too, too much!

Making the baba ganoush

When they’re done, let them cool for a bit, but not till they’re cold. Then throw it all in a food processor and smush that stuff to smithereens. As you can see from the photo below, I add a LOT more cayenne pepper powder and cumin to my baba ganoush recipe than normal, sane people!

Tip: Use whole cumin seeds. You can toast them for a bit in a frying pan and then grind them up in a mortar & pestle (alternatively, in a clean coffee grinder)

Here’s the end product

It’s absolutely delicious! It’s hard not to just take a spoon and eat it as is, but resist the temptation.

Baba ganoush is to classy people what ranch is to the rest of us. Advertising on the TV tells us that ranch is a great way to make kids eat their vegetables (and get fat in the process). Baba ganoush is another way.

Use it as a dip for the fresh vegetables you bring to a party.

Guests will love it!

Baba ganoush ingredients

2 medium eggplants – peel & roast for 45 minutes on 400.
3 cloves of garlic (I always double this)
2 Tbsp Tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp red pepper powder (optional if you’re a pussy)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin powder

Enjoy!

---

Buy a Guidebook: When we travel, we use Lonely Planet. By buying a book at one of the Amazon.com links below, we get a small referral fee at no additional cost to you.

---