Ah! The baba ghannouj! Or moutabbal, as it is more commonly known in Lebanese restaurants. Simply put, baba ghannouj is hummus with aubergine instead of chickpeas. My mom used to grill the aubergines whole on the stove and the entire house would smell of smoke! And that’s really key for this dish: the smokiness. So make sure when grilling or roasting the aubergines to let the skin get charred. That’s how you get the smoke flavour into the flesh.
Ingredients
2 aubergines
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove
100 ml tahini
Salt
Olive oil
Directions
- Cut the tops off the aubergines and discard. Cut them in two lengthwise.
- Place them under a grill, skin side up, until cooked and very soft. The skin should get charred in order to get the smoke flavour in there.
- Scoop out the flesh and leave it a bowl to cool down. Don’t drain the water that gets released.
- Peel the garlic and crush it in a mortar.
- Using a fork mix the tahini, lemon juice and garlic with the aubergine in order to get a ‘shredded’ texture.
- Adjust the seasoning with some salt, drizzle some olive oil on top and serve with bread.
