Baba Ghanouj

Middle Eastern Eggplant Puree With Tahini

Preparation info
  • Makes about

    2½ cups

    puree
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 1998

  • About

This Middle Eastern puree is voluptuous and silky in texture because of the tahini. To borrow a wine term from my son the sommelier, it has “mouth feel.” While you can make a meal of this slathered on warm pita bread, for a little snack try baba ghanouj with crisp fresh vegetables; they are a good contrast to its smoky richness.

Ingredients

  • 2 large or 3 medium eggplants
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Preheat the broiler or heat a heavy griddle over medium heat.

Broil the eggplants or grill on the griddle, turning frequently, until charred all over and very soft, about 20 minutes under the broiler or 10 to 15 minutes on the griddle. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Carefully remove the skin, making sure none of the charred skin gets into the eggplant pulp, and drain them in a s