Baba Ghanoush - Eggplant Cream
While hummus has already won many fans, baba ghanoush is still really more of an insider. You can find all kinds of hummus in the supermarket, but so far I've never found this fantastically smoky aubergine cream. At least none that you can actually enjoy. Yet neither one nor the other should be missing from a good mezze! Baba Ghanoush is vegan and an absolute taste bomb!
Baba Ghanoush: Straight from the fire
We don't really have a BBQ without baba ghanoush. Especially because you can put the aubergine on the grill first. Ideally directly over the flame or right into the glowing coals. This gives the aubergine its wonderful smoky aroma, which gives the cream its characteristic flavour. If you don't have the option of grilling the aubergine, you can also put it in the oven at high heat and then use smoked salt to give it a boost of flavour. However, the cooking time is considerably longer in the oven. On the grill it's really super fast.
If you have a gas cooker at home, I envy you. My mum has a little grid that she puts directly on her cooker to roast the aubergine on. It's super practical because you don't always have to start the grill. I bought a camping cooker for it - it works very well too!
Perfect for dipping!
Baba Ghanoush should not be pureed with a blender, as the beautiful texture will be lost. The flesh of the aubergine is so wonderfully soft after cooking that you can simply mash it with tahini, garlic and lemon juice with a fork and then blend it. The flesh will eventually break down and you will get a nice textured cream.
The recipe for baba ghanoush varies greatly from country to country in the Levant. In Syria, for example, a good portion of yoghurt is added. If you want to make a real Levantine BBQ, then you shouldn't miss out on Baba Ghanoush. Serve with fattoush or tabouleh and shish taouk.
Recipe for Baba Ghanoush
Ingredients
- 1 Eggplant
- 3 EL Tahini
- 1 Garlic clove
- 1/2 Lemon
- Salt, pepper
Preparation
- Wash the aubergine and make small slits in it with a knife.
- Cook the aubergine at high heat (225°C) in the oven or on the grill. It can take up to 30 minutes for the aubergine to cook through in the oven. Depending on the size, it sometimes takes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter. on the grill it is much quicker. It is ready when the flesh is buttery soft and the skin is crispy. After cooling, the aubergine collapses.
- After cooling, peel the skin off the flesh. Please be careful, the inside can still be very hot, even if it does not appear so.
- Crush the garlic with salt in a mortar until it becomes a mousse.
- Squeeze the lemon and mix with the garlic.
- Add the flesh of the aubergine and mash while mixing.
- Add the tahini and continue to stir. The consistency should be loose and creamy. The flesh of the aubergine will fray and remain slightly fibrous. This is the way it should be.
- Before serving, you can optionally pour a drizzle of olive oil over your baba ghanoush and garnish with pomegranate seeds and olives.
Notes
Nutritional values
Learn all about Levantine cuisine in my article.
Hello,
Yesterday I prepared the aubergine for its fate on the (electric) grill. It's about to go on. Since I find tahini quite bitter, I'll probably settle for less, but I'm looking forward to the result!
Tasty greetings
El-Fee
After eating Lebanese food for the second time and falling in love with this cuisine, I came across your blog and am squealing with delight! Thank you so much for the recipes!
Hello Justyna,
I'll squeal right along with you 🙂 Thank you for your feedback.
Thank you for your feedback and have fun cooking & eating 🙂
Best regards
Rafik
Dear Rafik,
Thank you so much for your many great recipes and your efforts.
Even though I'm only commenting on this recipe, you can be sure that we have already
have tried several others. All of them simply wonderful!
Many greetings
Hey,
Thank you very much for your great feedback. I am very pleased that you like the recipes so much ❤️
Kind regards
Rafik
Hello Rafik, as I myself spent 5 years in Lebanon as a child, I am addicted to Lebanese cuisine, after countless cookbooks I have now come across your blog and am quite thrilled to have finally found authentic recipes and your lovely stories about them, thank you very much, best regards Gaby
Hello Gaby,
wow, 5 years is a long time 🙂 .
Thank you so much for the flowers. I am very happy that I seem to be able to take you back to your childhood with my recipes.
Kind regards
Rafik
Hello Rafik,
I had some aubergines from a bulk buy the other day that had to go and I came across your recipe. I made the baba ganoush for a party and it was the first thing to go 🙂 Now I'm making it again. This recipe will become a permanent part of my repertoire. Thanks for that!!! And for your other recipes, which I'll be recreating too, you betcha!
Love from Portugal
Katinka
Hello Katinka,
Thank you so much for the compliment 🙂 I'm very happy that everyone enjoyed it so much.
I am very pleased that everyone enjoyed it so much.
Kind regards
Rafik
Hello Rafik! I tried my first baba ganoush even though I didn't have any tahini at home. I thought. Then I roasted sesame seeds for the first time in my life. And then (also for the first time) cooked an aubergine in the oven. It was a bit too bitter for our taste. I've since noticed that we have ready-made tahini already in the fridge. So, the next baba ghanoush is coming for sure! With Lebanese pita bread made from "magic dough", of course 🙂
Hi Michi,
Thank you for your feedback 🙂 Do you think you made your own tahini and it was too bitter?
By the way, you could also try grilling the aubergine on the barbecue or putting it directly into the hot embers.
Kind regards
Rafik
servus!
thank you for the great recipes! today my first baba ghanoush, my first matbucha and my second hummus today. plus pita bread for the 5th time (half of it with za'atar) - everything for the easter brunch tomorrow ... mjam, mjam ... I have to say about the baba ghanoush: very tasty, but 1 spoonful of tahini per aubergine would be the more balanced ratio in my opinion, but everyone can taste it as they like ... thanks again - I'm in heaven with your recipes.
Hello Nina,
Well, that sounds like a fantastic brunch 😀
I'm really glad that you like the recipes so much 🙂
Kind regards
Rafik