Baba Ganoush

I made some grilled egg plant for dinner which turned out really yummy. But I had a bunch left over and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. After some thought, I settled on Baba Ganoush. This is another yummy treat that I learned how to make when I was working at the country club. It's a dip made from roasted egg plant, garlic, and sesame tahini and it is delicious! If you love hummus, you will probably love this too!

I'll give you the instructions for how to make this with grilled eggplant since that's what I had on hand. But if you don't want to go through the extra work of grilling it, you can just cut the egg plant in half and roast it in the oven until it is golden brown and soft then scoop out the soft center.

Baba Ganoush
Makes: 4 servings

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 cup sesame tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt

• Wash the eggplant then slice it into 1/2" slices all the way down.
• Make the marinade by mixing together the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
• In a plastic bag, toss together the eggplant with the marinade. Allow the eggplant to soak for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
• Preheat the grill on high. Once hot, place the slices on the grill and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes per side.
• Place the eggplant slices in a food processor and puree. The mixture will seem a little lumpy. Add the sesame tahini and lemon juice and continue to puree; the mixture smooth out.
• Taste the dip and add salt as needed.
• Serve with naan bread, pita bread, veggies, or anything else you could possibly dip in there! This can be served hot, room temperature, or cold.

In case you've never used sesame tahini before, this is what it looks like. It comes in a jar and it's pretty runny stuff; it's a pour-able liquid. You can find it in the Asian section of almost any grocery store. Tahini is a great ingredient to keep on hand. You can use it in marinades, salad dressings, and all kinds of dips.