Baba Ganoush Vegetable Plate
I absolutely love baba ganoush. I often say that I could live on it, and believe me, if it were eggplant season right now, I would have it almost every day.
It wasn't always so. In the past I had to ration my beloved baba, saving it up for an occasional treat. My self-denial wasn't caused by anything wrong with the delicious dip itself--on the contrary, the combination of roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, and just enough sesame paste is very healthy. The problem was in conveying it to my mouth. In short, baba ganoush allowed me to pig out on bread--pita bread, crackers, or whatever loaf I could find in the house. For someone with a near-compulsive attraction to refined carbs, "a little bread" is just not possible.
But my embargo on baba ganoush ended recently when I found that vegetables are not only capable of delivering baba ganoush to my mouth, but they also taste great doing it. It took me a while to figure this out because I never was a big fan of crudités: I prefer broccoli or cauliflower cooked, and the thought of raw celery makes my teeth hurt. But I can tolerate baby carrots and I love those little grape tomatoes, so all I needed to do was figure out a couple more vegetable dippers that I would like enough not to miss the bread. I immediately thought of asparagus. Since it's asparagus season, I've been buying loads of it and cooking it several times a week, usually roasted. Roasted asparagus tastes great with everything, in my opinion, so of course it would be wonderful with baba ganoush.
Since I was heating up the oven anyway, I also tossed in a couple of other vegetables: broccoli florets and halves of large mushrooms. Contrary to popular opinion, roasting vegetables does not require a lot of oil. I just preheat the oven to around 425, put the vegetables into pyrex baking dishes big enough to hold them in a single layer, and give them a quick spray of olive oil. I mean really quick--each pan gets one fast spray from side to side. Then I put them into the oven and roast, turning them after about 7 minutes, until they're tender (in the case of the mushrooms) or just starting to brown. 15 minutes is usually enough time.
Baba Ganoush
(click for printer-friendly version)
This is my standard baba ganoush recipe. I've experimented with other recipes and have tried fancying this one up with other ingredients, but I keep coming back to this basic formula. When I first started making it, I used 3 tablespoons of tahini, but I've managed to work my way down to using only about a tablespoon. If you're a baba novice--or if you're used to the higher-fat versions served in restaurants--you may want to try using more tahini. Also, the amount of lemon juice and garlic is adjustable to personal taste; start small and add more as you go.
1 large eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic (or to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
1 tablespoon tahini (or to taste)
ground cumin
Preheat oven to 425 F (or better yet, do this on your barbecue grill!) With a fork, punch a bunch of holes in the eggplant and place it on a baking dish or sheet. Cook for about 45 minutes, until the eggplant is all sunken in. Remove from the heat and let it cool until you can peel it safely. Peel and put it in a food processor. Add the salt, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini, and process until it's smooth. Serve sprinkled with cumin and surrounded by the vegetables of your choice.
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 58 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (30% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 541mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.
It wasn't always so. In the past I had to ration my beloved baba, saving it up for an occasional treat. My self-denial wasn't caused by anything wrong with the delicious dip itself--on the contrary, the combination of roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, and just enough sesame paste is very healthy. The problem was in conveying it to my mouth. In short, baba ganoush allowed me to pig out on bread--pita bread, crackers, or whatever loaf I could find in the house. For someone with a near-compulsive attraction to refined carbs, "a little bread" is just not possible.
But my embargo on baba ganoush ended recently when I found that vegetables are not only capable of delivering baba ganoush to my mouth, but they also taste great doing it. It took me a while to figure this out because I never was a big fan of crudités: I prefer broccoli or cauliflower cooked, and the thought of raw celery makes my teeth hurt. But I can tolerate baby carrots and I love those little grape tomatoes, so all I needed to do was figure out a couple more vegetable dippers that I would like enough not to miss the bread. I immediately thought of asparagus. Since it's asparagus season, I've been buying loads of it and cooking it several times a week, usually roasted. Roasted asparagus tastes great with everything, in my opinion, so of course it would be wonderful with baba ganoush.
Since I was heating up the oven anyway, I also tossed in a couple of other vegetables: broccoli florets and halves of large mushrooms. Contrary to popular opinion, roasting vegetables does not require a lot of oil. I just preheat the oven to around 425, put the vegetables into pyrex baking dishes big enough to hold them in a single layer, and give them a quick spray of olive oil. I mean really quick--each pan gets one fast spray from side to side. Then I put them into the oven and roast, turning them after about 7 minutes, until they're tender (in the case of the mushrooms) or just starting to brown. 15 minutes is usually enough time.
Baba Ganoush
(click for printer-friendly version)
This is my standard baba ganoush recipe. I've experimented with other recipes and have tried fancying this one up with other ingredients, but I keep coming back to this basic formula. When I first started making it, I used 3 tablespoons of tahini, but I've managed to work my way down to using only about a tablespoon. If you're a baba novice--or if you're used to the higher-fat versions served in restaurants--you may want to try using more tahini. Also, the amount of lemon juice and garlic is adjustable to personal taste; start small and add more as you go.
1 large eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic (or to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
1 tablespoon tahini (or to taste)
ground cumin
Preheat oven to 425 F (or better yet, do this on your barbecue grill!) With a fork, punch a bunch of holes in the eggplant and place it on a baking dish or sheet. Cook for about 45 minutes, until the eggplant is all sunken in. Remove from the heat and let it cool until you can peel it safely. Peel and put it in a food processor. Add the salt, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini, and process until it's smooth. Serve sprinkled with cumin and surrounded by the vegetables of your choice.
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 58 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (30% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 541mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live
Labels: eat to live, gluten-free, higher-fat
posted by SusanV at 1:15 PM
35 Comments:
love the colors, all looks fantastic!
I agree on the bread and crackers-I just started back on the Fat Flush Diet (Atkins style) and the pounds are falling off-very easy. Veggies are a great dipping medium!!!
I'm definitely going to make the baba this weekend. I actually prefer lower fat baba in terms of taste and texture, and have been looking for a recipe like this. I totally agree with you about using veggies instead of refined carbs and also about how easy and tasty roasting veggies with practically no oil can be.
I also wanted to let you know that as a longish-term vegan, I have found that eating generally from your blog over the past couple of months (sticking to the minimal carbs recipes and including lots of beans, veggie and soy recipes, with the occassional whole flour baked good treat) is keeping me in amazing shape - the best of my life(I'm 28). It also sustains me through 6x/week workouts, full workdays, and a busy social calendar, not to mention that everything tastes amazing, so thank you! It's really inspired me!
I'll make this and let you know how it goes, it will be the perfect 3pm at-work pre-gym snack.
I can't wait to try some of your recipes! Thanks for the restaurant link, we have always liked quite a few of those! Nagoyas!!!! mmm mmm mmm!!!!
What a beautiful photo, Susan! I love baba ganoush too--I could eat it with a spoon! I enjoy lightly steaming things like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots to use as dippers--raw broccoli is not for me either! But lightly steamed it holds up to "dip" and is really good.
Courtney
I'm with you re: reducing the amount of tahini in baba ghanoush and also houmus - I'm not too keen on the flavour. Lovely recipe & picture - thanks!!
Thanks for the recipe. I don't think I've ever had Ganoush.
You might like the Vegan Forums.
Oh baba ganoush, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... I have an endless love of eggplant, and I love your blog for bringing us so many recipes featuring it!
I love crudites, and always have to remind myself to set out a platter pretty like yours. I love the idea of lightly steaming broccoli and cauliflower. I also love raw fennel added to the mix.
I've never made this before, but I have enjoyed store bought versions. Sometimes I get a little sick of hummus, so this would be great. Can't wait to try it!
Great idea. Never thought of this combination before, although I did recently say to myself, "Hmm. Why would't celery stuffed with hummus taste great?" It did.
My asparagus didn't make the best dipper in the world, but the dip itself was delicious. I ate two servings of the baba ganoush. Now the inside of my mouth itches from the eggplant and I have garlic dragon breath, but it's worth it!
I've been dipping with veggies since you gave me the idea back when you went something like a week without flour. I remember your photos of hummus and crudités every time I fix 'em.
I once tried making baba ganoush years ago and it turned out pretty yucky which put me off making it again. But I think I will give your recipe a go! Thanks for sharing!
beautiful recipe. here's a tip to cook the eggplant faster.
cut in in half, put the cut sides up on a baking sheet, and broil for 12 mins for a small eggplant and 20 minutes for a big one.
Susan, I love you! I made two of your recipes two nights in a row. This baba ganoush is my favorite!
Yummm. I ate a whole eggplants worth of baba ghanoush for dinner a few days ago. I can't get enough of the stuff either. And I don't have any problems eating it just plain, no crackers, no vegetables. Ok, I think I need to go make some more baba ghanoush now!
I don't think I've ever had Baba Ganoush - looks delicious!
sorry, susan, i meant "cut side DOWN" on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Mmmm your recipes look delicous!
you have Great blog from Jeena :)
visit jeena's kitchen healthy recipe blog
could you make this if you don't have a food processor?
How do you get your Baba Ghanoush to be so white? Mine tastes yummy, but it's always an unattracitve eggplanty beige colour. Am I cooking the eggplant for to long?
oooh yummy!
This looks fantastic. I can't really digest too much tahini, so this looks like a good recipe for me!
Thanks Susan. As always, I love your wonderful blog. :)
To answer my own question, you can make this without a food processor by using a hand blender. I used more tahini (sorry!) and I have to say, I preferred it mixed with store bought hummus, on it's own I didn't care for it as much. And I definitely added extra salt. But thank you for getting me to try something new! I served it over roasted baby red potatoes and cauliflower, and mixed with the hummus, it was an excellent topping for the veggies. I'll definitely do it again.
I"ve only ever made hummus it looks like baba ganoush isn't extremely different. I'll just have to get some eggplant.
Teddy
Susan, with your love of eggplant I wonder if you’ve ever tried a Persian dish called Borani-e bademjan (eggplant and yoghurt)? I’m not a vegan, but I think it would be a fairly easy dish to veganize. It’s delicious!
Here’s how I make it:
2 large eggplants
1 whole white onion, sliced
Garlic to taste (I usually do 2 or 3 cloves)
plain yoghurt to desired creamy consistency
salt/pepper to taste
handful of fresh mint
Roast eggplants whole in oven. As they are roasting begin to, very slowly, caramelize onion and garlic on stovetop (good caramelization is key!) with a dash of olive oil. When eggplants are done, peel and roughly chop (you’ll blend it later, so it doesn’t matter much) and add (with the mint) to the onions and garlic on the stove cooking until nicely melded, and everything combines (about 5 minutes). Blend in food processor until its reached your desired consistency (I like mine kind of chunky, but you may not) and stir in yoghurt until it becomes creamy. Salt and pepper to taste. (Normally I reserve some of the onions and mint to garnish)
Good hot or cold, but better the next day after the flavors combine even more. Eat with…everything!
Oooh, Borani-e bademjan sounds wonderful! I will have to try it soon. Thanks so much for the recipe, anonymous poster!
Susan, I made this recipe tonight and thought it superb. I never made baba ganoush before--why, I don't know. I shall definitely remember this one! Thank you.
I suggest trying this with some miso added. I find that it takes baba ganoush to a whole new level!
I was just cruising the internet, trying to find a tasty way to serve the baba I had made tonight when I popped on here. I feel totally silly for not thinking of roasting my veggies. That's BRILLIANT. And so much less soggy than steamed (which is what I had pretty much resolved myself to). Thanks much!
I'm a rather new vegan, on the lookout for healthy recipes that I can make without a lot of time and bother. I've never eaten eggplant that I know of, or tahini, so this was a bit of an adventure. Your recipe rocks! I added a few tablespoons of garlic hummus and about a quarter teaspoon of cumin when blending this up in the food processor. Very good!
Tried this recipe last week and loved it! Dipped warm whole wheat pita bread in it for a great snack. Used it as a spread on my veggie sandwich. Also dipped cherry tomatoes in it for a carb free treat. Thanks!!
www.lzbthlgh.blogspot.com
I love baba ganoush! I tried making some using roasted garlic rather than fresh garlic recently, and the difference in taste is slight but noticeable: roasted garlic is slightly nuttier and mellower. It's also easier to blend in when roasted.
Oh my, this recipe was awesome. And my kids loved it! It's a great way to get toddlers to eat their veggies, you may want to tell people. Toddlers love to dip, and mine dug into this recipe. My family demolished the veggie plate in about 15 minutes flat. And I really loved it too! It's like hummus...but even better.
Thanks for the great idea Susan!
Hi Susan,
This sounds similar to the popular Indian dish - Baingan-ka-Bharta ("baingan" is eggplant in Hindi).
The basic method is the same. Of course, you need to add a number of spices, onions, tomatoes, garlic etc.
I found this link on the net:
http://www.recipedelights.com/recipes/vegdishes/BaiganBhartha.htm
Regards
Kanwar
This is very similar to the basic baba recipe I use. But I wanted to share a little variation with you.
I used to live near an Egyptian restaurant on the Sunset strip in LA, and they used to serve their Baba Gannoushj with sauteed onions on top. The sweet carmelization really finished off the flavor in a big way. Try it and let me know what you think, thanks!
Ok, I realize that I'm more than a year late posting this, but I saw eggplant in our local veggie market's reduced/use today bin, I immediately thought baba and remembered that you had a recipe at some point... This was fantastic!! It was the first time I had actually made it, and it turned out really well... I used a lot less lemon juice (couple tbs), a lot more garlic (4 cloves), a hair more tahini, about a 1/2 tsp salt, and added a handful of parsely and -this is important- 1/4 tsp of liquid smoke!
The addition of liquid smoke adds just that little something extra; it's not enough to overpower the flavours (which is easy to do with liquid smoke) but it makes it taste more like it does at my restaurants, and perhaps traditionally, as I think they typically roast it over an open flame and it makes the eggplant somewhat smoky... It was fantastic, any way you put it.
On a side note, I've been lurking for a long time, this is my first comment. AMAZING blog, all of your recipes are fantastic and always inspire me. I have even passed it on to several omni's I know that love it too -- you are simply a food -and photo- genius!
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