Baba Ganoush (Secret Recipe Club)

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There is a local Lebanese owned restaurant that we have fallen in love with. And without fail, we order baba ganoush every single time as an appetizer. I'm not a huge eggplant person but I absolutely LOVE it used in this classic Arabic dish. The eggplant is smoky, the dip is creamy, and it's perfect with warm pita bread. Believe it or not, I've never made it at home!

I've been on the waiting list to join Secret Recipe Club for quite awhile and this is my first month to participate. Each month, I'm assigned another food blogger to choose and make a recipe from. On reveal day, I find out who made something of mine, my assigned blogger can see what I made of hers, and you have the opportunity to see a slew of other great recipes from around the blogosphere.

This month I was assigned Ya Salam Cooking, where Noor shares {mostly} Saudi recipes. Let me tell you, I had a really really difficult time figuring out what to make. Just flipping through her archives made me incredibly hungry! You will probably see many more recipes of hers in the days to come because I bookmarked a ton.

Since I knew we'd both devour a bowl of baba ganoush, and I hadn't tried it at home before, I chose to try out her version. It tasted just as good - if not better - than our favorite restaurant version and was so easy to make at home! Not to mention cheaper :)

And yes, this bowl was gone in less than 20 minutes. Since it's got eggplant in it, I figure it counts as a serving of vegetable... right?

We are all about the carbs but you could also use cut veggies to dip with! 

Baba Ganoush
1 large eggplant
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons olive oil + more for topping
pita bread or veggies for dipping

Preheat oven to 350. With a fork, pierce the eggplant all over before placing on a baking sheet. Bake for 1.5 hours, turning often. When it's finished a knife should go through it easily.

Remove from oven, let cool, and then discard the peel. In a large bowl, mash the pulp with a fork. In another bowl, combine the garlic paste, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, lemon juice, tahini, and 4 tablespoons olive oil. Mix well.

Add the mixture to the mashed eggplant and mix well. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil.

Source: Ya Salam Cooking

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