Baba Ganoush with Roasted Garlic

Baba Ganoush is the lesser known cousin of hummus, with aubergine replacing the chickpeas.

An earthy dip or spread made creamy with tahini sesame paste, it’s vibrantly flavoured with lemon and garlic.

In this post, I show you how to add extra depth by roasting the garlic and enhance its traditional smokiness with paprika.

Jump to Recipe

Vegan and gluten-free before such concepts were ever thought of, Baba Ganoush is eaten all over the Middle East.

It’s said to have originated in Lebanon and Syria and apparently translates as ‘spoiled daddy’ or ‘pampered father’. Some say the name refers to its invention by a woman in a sultan’s harem. But I prefer the version where a devoted daughter prepares mashed food for her beloved old, toothless father.

BABA GANOUSH vs HUMMUS

Like hummus, the basic ingredients of Baba Ganoush are tahini sesame paste, garlic and lemon juice. The difference is that Baba Ganoush contains aubergine instead of chickpeas.

Now I know that, for a lot of people, aubergine is not exactly their favourite vegetable (although, interesting fact: it’s actually a fruit). I agree that, improperly cooked, it’s nightmare. If under-done, it’s spongy, nasty and seems more suited to scrubbing out the bathtub rather than a pleasurable eating experience.

But thoroughly cooked, especially if you can char the skin first, it has a wonderfully rich and smoky flavour. The blackened skin is removed before making the Baba Ganoush, but echos of it remain and permeate the dish.

Traditionally, the aubergine would have been cooked over a fire, but I char the skin under a very hot grill before roasting the aubergine in the oven. When I had a gas hob, I used to sit the aubergine directly on the gas flame to get it really black. Messy, but effective. A heavy, ridged griddle pan would do the  job too.

One very important point: make sure you prick the aubergine all over with a fork before cooking it. I once forgot and the sound of the skin bursting off, leaving behind the pale and naked flesh, was so loud I almost jumped out of my skin.

To increase the smokiness, I add a little of my constant companion, smoked paprika, alongside the more traditional cumin.

ROASTED GARLIC

Another way I diverge from the traditional is, rather than adding a few cloves of raw garlic, I roast a whole head of it alongside the aubergine. Don’t worry that this will be too much. Yes, it’s garlicky, but roasting mellows the flavour and gives it a sweetness too.

I think, with its lighter texture and smokier flavour, Baba Ganoush wins hands down over hummus pretty much every time.

SERVING BABA GANOUSH

I think the appearance of Baba Ganoush is always improved with a light dusting of spices and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Drizzle some olive oil over the top as well if you like.

You can eat it just as you would hummus. With flatbread, crackers, vegetable crudités and pickles or simply spread on bread.

Baba Ganoush is great as part of a Middle East-inspired mezze feast. And that’s exactly what we ate last Christmas day. Along with the Baba Ganoush, salads and pickles, we had spicy lamb balls, chicken skewers, fried prawns, pide or Turkish style pizza and falafel.

Talking of falafel…

One of my favourite ways to eat Baba Ganoush is with my homemade Baked Falafel. As I’ve written before, I’ll never understand why people serve hummus with falafel. Two chickpea dishes on one plate? Really?

Tahini is perfect with falafel, that’s true. The earthiness of them both go together beautifully. But have your tahini in the form of lemon-spiked Tahini Dressing or smoky Baba Ganoush, please.

Dollop a generous spoonful in the middle of a bowl and surround with roasted and raw veg, greens, olives, pickles and some nutty falafel drizzled with hot chilli sauce.

Even if you think you don’t like aubergine, give creamy, smoky Baba Ganoush a go. You might even end up feeling, like the sultan or father in the story, a little pampered.

Print

Baba Ganoush with Roasted Garlic

Baba Ganoush, cousin of hummus, is a creamy aubergine dip or spread made with tahini. This recipe gives it more depth by using roasted instead of raw garlic and enhances the smokiness with paprika. Serve with flatbread, crudités, pickles, falafel or as part of a Middle East-inspired mezze feast.

Course Breakfast, Snack, Starter

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Vegan

Keyword baba ganoush, aubergine

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic left whole
• salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large aubergine
• 70-80 g tahini (sesame paste)
• 1-2 lemons, juice only
• 2 tsp ground cumin plus extra for sprinkling
• 0.5 tsp smoked paprika plus extrafor sprinkling
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Slice off and discard the top centimetre of the head of garlic. Put the base on a small square of baking foil, season it with salt & pepper. Drizzle with 1 tsp of the olive oil. Enclose the garlic in the foil and set aside.
   

2. Heat the grill to high and preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7
   

   Meanwhile, prick the aubergine all over with a fork.
   

3. Put the aubergine on a baking tray and place under the grill. Cook until it's blackened all over - you'll need to turn it regularly.
   

4. Remove the tray and aubergine from the grill (turn the grill off) and add the foil package of garlic to the tray. Put the tray into the preheated oven and cook for 25 minutes.
   

5. Check if the aubergine is very soft. If not, continue cooking.

   Carefully open the foil to check if the garlic is soft and lightly browned. If not, re-wrap and continue cooking.
   

   When they're done, remove the aubergine and garlic from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
   

6. Using a knife, remove the black skin from the aubergine and discard it. Roughly chop the flesh on a board, then transfer it to the bowl of a food processor or suitable vessel if you're going to use a stick blender.
   

7. Squeeze, or scrape out with a teaspoon, the cooked flesh from the papery garlic skins and add it to the aubergine.

8. Add in 70g of the tahini, the juice of one of the lemons, 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the cumin and smoked paprika. Add a good grind of black pepper and a little salt.
   

9. Blend until smooth and then taste. Add more lemon or seasonings if liked. Blend in more tahini if you want to make the Baba Ganoush thicker, a little water to thin it.
   

10. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with a little cumin, smoked paprika and the sesame seeds. Drizzle with olive oil.
    

Recipe Notes

Blackening the aubergine under the grill: you can omit this step, but the flavour won't be as smoky. If you've a gas hob, and you don't mind it getting a bit messy, you could put the aubergine directly on the flame to char instead of grilling it. Alternatively, char the aubergine in a heavy, cast iron griddle.