Turkish baba ganoush with tahini

Arts Origin
2 min readJan 10, 2022

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ArtsOrigin.com

In Arabic, “baba” means father and “ghanoush” means spoiled. This “spoiled dad” dip is the creamier companion to hummus. Popular in Arab countries throughout the Middle East, it is also a common appetizer on the Sephardic Jewish table. In Israel, it is known as eggplant salad, or Salat Hatzilim. It is sometimes made with roasted bell peppers, and often mayonnaise is added for richness. I’ve even tasted sweet baba ghanoush with a touch of sugar in it. While I’ve provided a more classic version here, there are endless variations on this theme.

Step 1: Broil whole eggplants to char the skins. This step lightly chars the outsides of the eggplant, which adds a smoky flavor. You can also char the skin of the eggplants using a grill or even a gas burner.

Step 2: Switch the oven to bake and roast the eggplants until very soft. For the very best baba ganoush, the flesh of the eggplant needs to be very soft. Roasting time will vary based on how large the eggplants are. I simply roast until they look like they are caving in and a fork can very easily pierce through the flesh.

Step 3: Combine tahini with lemon juice, garlic, spices, and olive oil. These are the remaining ingredients needed to make baba ganoush. I like to mix them together early on since the mixture improves in flavor over time.

Step 4: Stir the roasted eggplant into the tahini mixture. I use a spoon to scoop out the soft flesh and then use a fork to mash it into the tahini and lemon juice mixture. I like some texture so I don’t use a food processor to make baba ganoush. A fork works perfectly fine!

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