Homemade Babaganoush

It has been years and years since I last tasted Babaganoush… it was in a little out of the way cafe that I visited with my younger brother when I was in LA. with him the summer he was pitching at a try-out camp for the California Angels… but when I saw this recipe on The Healthy Dynamic Duo, the taste and texture of this garlicky, creamy dip came right to mind… and to mouth! 

It is a traditional Mediteranean dish, and although it is normally served with warm pita bread, it is also very good with fresh veggies, and as a salad topper and a sandwich filling.

 

I knew I had to make it.

We did a huge grocery shop recently and I made sure to pick up the ingredients for the Babaganoush that I didn’t already have on hand… 2 beautiful large eggplants and a jar of Tahini (sesame seed paste)… to go along with the freshly squeezed lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, cumin, and salt that round out the list.

I had never purchased Tahini before and was quite surprised by the size of the jar and the taste… it is kind of like bitter peanut butter, and I can see why some recipes say that you can sub creamy peanut butter if you don’t have tahini.  I couldn’t see anywhere on the jar where it says it should be refrigerated after opening, but the only ingredient is sesame seeds, so I am storing it in the fridge, just to be safe.

I went back to the blog post and followed the instructions pretty much as written, although I did use more garlic than the recipe called for as well as a few dashes of salt, and a short while later... about an hour or so, I was rewarded with had 3 cups of tasty, creamy, VERY garlicky Babaganoush.  I put it into the refrigerator and managed not to taste it again until the next day when I served it for lunch with some cut up fresh veggies.

Wonderful!  You really ought to try it.

Be sure to check out the original blog post for the recipe and the full instructions.

 

The nutritional information, as I made it:

.
Per 1/2 cup serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 3.
Calories 146; Protein 3g; Carbohydrate 13g; Fat 10g; Fibre 5g.

Eggplants washed, dried and skin pierced in several places with a fork.

 

 

After baking for 40 minutes.

 

 

Removing the peel after the eggplants have cooled.

 

 

Reaming the lemon... this little tool has holes to allow the juice to escape, but not the seeds. 

 

 

Everything in the food processor....

 

 

and afer pureeing.

 

 

Served up with fresh veggies for lunch.

And as a sald topper along with some hard boiled eggs... delicious!

 

 

 

Have you ever eaten Babaganoush? 

 

What is your favorite dip for fesh veggies?