Photo by Heidi Harris
Baba Ghanoush served with toasted pita chips
Charring the eggplant gives this Baba Ghanoush dip its smoky flavor. It is traditionally served as a meze in Levantine cuisine, along with its cousin hummus. The sumac added to this dish gives it a tangy, lemony taste with just a little hint of spiciness from fresh mint.
Sumac is made from the dried and crushed or ground berries of the sumac shrub, a member of the same plant family as cashews.
Makes about 3½ cups (about 12 servings)
Ingredients
- 3 whole eggplants, large
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 leaves of fresh mint
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- 2 lemons, juiced
- ¾ teaspoon sumac
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
1 | Preheat your broiler to high.
2 | Using a fork, poke holes in the eggplant all around. Adjust the rack in your oven to 6″ below the broiler element.
3 | Place the eggplant on a baking sheet lined with foil. Broil for about 30 minutes, turning the eggplant every 10 minutes. The skins should be charred all over and the eggplant extremely soft. Do not remove it from the oven until the skins are charred. If the eggplant is not completely soft and the skin is fully charred, lower the broiler to low and move the baking sheet down to the bottom rack.
4 | Remove from the oven and let the eggplants cool. Slice the flesh of the eggplant lengthwise and scoop the flesh out into a fine sieve colander lined with cheesecloth. Discard the skins.
5 | Using a potato masher, gently press down on the eggplant to expel any water and allow it to sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
6 | In a mortar and pestle or with the back of a chef’s knife, grind the garlic, mint, sumac, and salt into a smooth paste. Stir in the lemon juice and combine.
7 | When the eggplant has drained, transfer it to a mixing bowl and add the lemon juice mixture and stir to combine. Add the tahini to the bowl and stir the mixture vigorously with two forks until the eggplant breaks down and the tahini is fully combined. While whisking with the forks, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Whisk vigorously to emulsify. The mixture will become pale and creamy.
8 | Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
9 | To serve, place the baba ghanoush in a shallow serving bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle some sumac on top to garnish. Serve with toasted pita.
Tip: In step 7, Beat the olive oil into the eggplant like you are whisking oil into a salad dressing. This emulsifies the dip, making it nice and creamy rather than oily.
See Joseph’s tips for making amuse bouches and four more delicious amuse bouche recipes.
By Joseph Marini
Photography by Heidi Harris
Excerpted from Mastering the Art of Entertaining (SparkPress, 2023).
“I’m often asked why I love entertaining so much. It took me a long time to understand the answer to this. Fitting in, even sometimes within a family, can be difficult. By entertaining, I was allowing myself to be vulnerable enough to be seen for who I was. It allowed me to create a group of family and friends that would truly see and appreciate my authenticity. I now realize the rewards of living intentionally and opening up m home (and heart) to bring people together over food.”
Buy the book and enjoy more recipes and entertaining tips!
