Baba Ganoush. eggplant baba ganoush recipe

I waited for eggplant, first of all, to cook baba ganoush, which year the eggplant season starts with this Middle Eastern snack. This is a wonderful light summer meal that doesn't have to be accompanied by anything other than tortillas or good bread, but can also serve as a dip for pasta, vegetables, fish, or anything else. Babaganoush is a thick sauce, pate or puree of baked eggplants with herbs and spices, and, in all their variety, babaganoush differs from ordinary eggplant purees in the obligatory presence of tahina in the composition of sesame paste. If there is no sesame in the composition, this is no longer babaganush!

The composition is simple:

3-4 medium sized eggplants;

1-2 cloves of garlic (but in general - to taste, if you want, you can take three);

2 tbsp tkhini or sesame, ground into flour;

1-2 tbsp lemon juice;

½ tsp ground zira (cumin, Roman cumin);

A bunch of parsley (basil and cilantro are also great here, if you like);

Olive oil;

Salt pepper.

Course of action:

I don’t have tahini and I don’t buy it, almost always, when I need it, I grind sesame seeds to dust in my coffee grinder bowl with characteristic “coffee-grinding” knives. In a few seconds, part of the sesame seeds becomes a thick paste, part - fine flour.

If you already have a fire burning somewhere, bake the eggplants on the coals, but if there is no fire, use the oven: bake the whole eggplants until soft at maximum temperature, usually 15-20 minutes is enough for this, depending on the number and size of eggplant.

Let them cool so as not to burn yourself, and remove the skin.

Cut into pieces and puree in a blender. I used a tall smoothie glass with cross cutters.

Add the eggplant puree to the ground sesame seeds.

Finely chop the parsley, grind the cumin and pepper in a mortar, crush the garlic there, add all this to the eggplant puree with sesame seeds, salt and lemon juice.

Stir, put in a beautiful dish, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, pour with fragrant olive oil, serve immediately with homemade bread or tortillas.

By tradition - a video recipe!

Enjoy!

Good luck and have a great summer!

• Preparation time: 55 minutes
• Time for preparing: 5 minutes
• Serving:

07.05.2015

Baba Ganoush or Baba Ganoush, Eggplant Appetizer - A delicious Middle Eastern eggplant pasta, eggplant hummus that uses, respectively, baked eggplant instead of chickpeas. The babaganush dish, whose calorie content is extremely low, can be called dietary, so you can eat it in large quantities without harming the figure. I already told once about a similar, but, nevertheless, completely different Israeli dish Hatsilim, the recipe of which can be read in my recipe (be sure to look, eggplant lovers will definitely like it!). And how to cook a classic eggplant baba ganoush, I'll tell you right now!

Ingredients

• eggplant - 800 gr
• sesame tahini paste- 100 gr (recipe link below)
• lemon - 1 piece
• garlic- 1 clove
• olive oil- 30 ml

Cooking method

very diverse, so many of them are presented on my blog, you can look through. Walking through them, you will definitely understand how to cook eggplant in different ways. But now we are talking about one very tasty way called Baba Ganush or Babaganush, an eggplant appetizer. Let's start by preparing the ingredients. We turn on the oven in advance at 200-220 degrees (depending on the oven!) So that it has time to warm up. We wash the eggplants, cut them in half, make shallow cuts in the form of a diamond-shaped mesh on the cuts with a knife and lay them up with the flesh on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Salt and put in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the baked eggplant is soft. If you want to speed up the process, you can cut the eggplant into thin strips and bake until soft in the same way, laying out each eggplant leaf separately. By the way, during this time you can cook tahina sesame paste very quickly and with just two ingredients. Preparation is described in the recipe. . It's time to peel the eggplants. How to peel eggplant quickly and effortlessly? I'll tell you 🙂 Transfer to a deep container and seal with cling film. Leave for 10 minutes - it will be easier to peel the eggplant without losing the pulp. After the right time, remove the film and peel the eggplant from the hard skin. Many people wonder: do eggplants need to be peeled? I will say that the preparation of eggplants depends on their quality. Eggplant peel can sometimes be quite hard, so eggplants need to be peeled just when their skin is really impossible to chew. If the skin is soft, you can not remove it. Now we clean the garlic and put it to the eggplant. , I highly recommend reading and looking at photos, you have not seen this before! We put tahini sesame paste in eggplant with garlic, squeeze half a lemon, add olive oil, salt and pepper. We take out the blender and thoroughly interrupt everything until a homogeneous consistency. Taste the baba ganoush and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Beat the eggplant paste again. Baba Ganoush or Baba Ganoush, eggplant appetizer is ready to eat. You can spread it on toast, you can eat it with

Anyone who has visited one of the Asian countries at least once has an idea of ​​​​what baba ghanoush is. The recipe for this dish is familiar to every oriental chef. Young housewives, in order to fill the gap in their knowledge, can try to cook this original dish using one of the recipes described below.

Fragrant snack

In the East and in many Mediterranean countries, every girl knows how to make baba ghanoush. The recipe for its preparation is passed from mother to daughter, taking into account local traditions and personal taste preferences. Basically, it's a liquid spread or sauce appetizer that can be spread on bread or toast. There are many different options for its preparation. But all of them must have two main ingredients in their composition: eggplant and paste from (tahini). Every home has its own way of preparing baba ghanoush. The recipe may include the following ingredients: 2 eggplants, some greens (cilantro and parsley), two tablespoons of lemon juice and olive oil, a couple of cloves of garlic, spices (salt, ground coriander and black pepper), black sesame seeds as decoration, and for tahini you need 100 grams of ordinary sesame seeds and 35 grams of vegetable oil.

In this case, it all starts with vegetables:

1. Washed eggplant should be placed on a baking sheet covered with parchment and baked in the oven, which is heated to 200 degrees, for about half an hour. During this time, the products should become soft enough for the knife to easily penetrate inside.
2. Free time can be spent on cooking tahini. To do this, sesame seeds must be crushed in a blender, and then mixed with oil.
3. free from the peel, and then grind with lemon juice in a puree, while adding garlic.
4. Combine both prepared mixtures.

Before serving, “babaganoush” should be put on a plate, poured with plenty of oil, sprinkled and decorated with herbs.

original combination

Many African countries also love baba ghanoush. The recipe for its preparation today has changed a little. In modern families, the following set of products is often used: for 2 eggplants, 2 pcs. bell pepper, 2 tablespoons of any yogurt, olive oil, juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of sesame seeds, salt, 3 cloves of garlic, ½ teaspoon of coriander and cumin, black pepper and a bunch of parsley.

In this case, the cooking process is as follows:

1. Eggplants and peppers are roasted over an open fire so that the flesh acquires a pleasant smoky flavor. To do this, they can be put on the grill in the oven or sent to the grill.
2. After 20 minutes, the products can already be taken out.
3. After that, it is necessary to remove the peel from them, and then chop the insides of the eggplant with a knife, and cut the pepper into cubes.
4. Mix the ingredients by adding yogurt, lemon juice, herbs and garlic.
5. Mash the sesame seeds in a mortar and then season with salt, cumin, pepper and oil.

Having combined the prepared compositions, it is necessary to let the mixture stand for a while.

Unusual option

For thrill-seekers, you can offer a not quite standard version of the baba ghanoush pasta. A recipe with a photo in this case will be especially useful - it will help to control each stage of the process.

You will need the following components to work:

• for 4 tomatoes 2 eggplants, 3 cloves of garlic, half a chili pepper, 3 tablespoons of thick yogurt and lemon juice, a bunch of herbs (basil, dill, parsley) and 5 tablespoons of olive oil.

The work takes place in several stages:

1. First, vegetables need to be baked in the oven for 20 minutes, while brushing them with vegetable oil. You can use the microwave if you wish. This will significantly reduce the cooking time. It will take no more than 9 minutes. After cooling, the products will need to be completely peeled.
2. First, grind the washed greens in a blender with garlic.
3. Then add all the other ingredients one by one. Eggplant with pepper must be introduced last.
4. It is better to serve the finished product on the table in a wide plate, pouring it with yogurt or butter.

This appetizer will be a great addition to any meat. Although the locals are accustomed to mainly eat it with bread (lavash).

popular way

In Australia, eggplant baba ganoush is also prepared. The recipe, however, is slightly different from that used by oriental chefs. Here, as the initial ingredients, it is customary to take:

• for 1 large eggplant, half a clove of garlic, one and a half tablespoons of vegetable oil, a quarter teaspoon of caraway powder, juice of 1/3 of a medium lemon, a tablespoon of prepared tahini paste, a little feather onion (or parsley) and pomegranate seeds.

The famous appetizer is prepared according to the usual technology:

1. First, generously lubricated it with oil. After that, it is laid on a wire rack and left to cool, making a large incision with a knife.
2. All components are connected together. According to the rules, this should be done with a fork, but now housewives are increasingly using a blender. First, eggplant, tahini, garlic, cumin and lemon juice are taken. After that, spices and herbs are added. Oil is usually poured directly into the plate on top of the finished mass.

Chopped greens and pomegranate quarter seeds are used for decoration. On the table, this dish looks very picturesque.

The popular baba ganoush is prepared somewhat differently according to David Leibovitz's recipe. The famous cookbook author uses an unusual combination of ingredients.

For 2 medium-sized eggplants, he takes the same amount of chili peppers and cloves of garlic, the juice of one small lemon, a pinch of cumin, salt, and one and a half tablespoons of sesame paste and olive oil.

The way the appetizer is prepared is not much different from the previous options:

1. First of all, washed and dried eggplants are baked in the oven for half an hour. First they need to be pricked in several places with a fork.
2. While baking is in progress, tahini must be mixed separately with lemon juice. It is necessary to achieve such a concentration that both components simply complement each other.
3. Separately, crush the cumin with salt, garlic and chili pepper in a mortar.
4. Combine both mixtures and then add oil and finely chopped mint.
5. Grind the eggplant pulp with a fork, and then combine all the ingredients.

The dish is served at the table in a salad bowl and consumed with fresh pita bread.

Delicate sauce

Some experts consider the popular dish not an appetizer, but just a sauce, which is also called “babaganoush”. The recipe for this product can be as simple as possible. For work, you will need only eggplant, yogurt, garlic, tahini paste, salt and lemon juice.

The whole process consists of two stages:

1. First, eggplants are baked for 50 minutes on a baking sheet in the oven. They must first be cut into pieces. After that, the products should cool naturally. This will take 15 minutes.
2. Load all the ingredients into a food processor and mix until they turn into a plastic homogeneous mass.

Put the finished sauce on a plate, and then garnish with chopped parsley and ground red pepper. It is customary to serve toast along with fragrant pasta. In principle, it can also be spread on fresh bread. Here, everyone chooses for himself the most convenient way to use it.

Traditional option

In Turkey, a slightly different idea of ​​\u200b\u200bpreparing babaganush pasta. The classic recipe used by local chefs includes the following essential ingredients.

For 2 large eggplants, 40 milliliters of olive oil, 75 grams of peeled walnuts, a little salt, 30 milliliters of lemon juice and a glass of yogurt are required.

A popular snack is prepared as follows:

1. First, fresh eggplant must be grilled. They should become softer and take on a light smoky flavor. If the house does not have such a device, then you can simply use the oven. To prevent the vegetables from exploding when heated, they must first be pierced with a knife or fork.
2. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the pulp from the cooled vegetables, and then mix it with the prepared ingredients.
3. For flavor, you can add a little mayonnaise and chopped cilantro to the pasta.

Before serving, the finished product will only need to be decorated with nuts. While eating, they will pleasantly complement the already quite delicate taste of the original snack. This is optional, but can be used as an option.

The dish is very popular in Arab countries, it is even often called Arabic pate. Babaganoush can be served as a dip, on its own or as an appetizer.

That is why babaganush will be appreciated by both vegetarians and meat-eaters, because you can simply eat it with bread, or you can enjoy the wonderful combination of this dish with meat.

To make the oriental appetizer even tastier, you should cook it on the grill. The light aroma of smoke will give a special interesting taste to the dish.

classic salad recipe

Ingredients

In general, the amount of each ingredient in baba ganoush is added based on individual taste preferences, standard proportions are given in this recipe.

Main ingredients for 5 servings:

• eggplant - 2-3pcs;
• garlic - 1 clove;
• zira - 1 tsp;
• lemon - 1 pc;
• olive oil - 3 tbsp;
• tahini (sesame paste) - 4 tablespoons;
• salt to taste;
• hot red pepper;
• greens to taste.

For decoration:

• a couple of sprigs of cilantro;
• pomegranate seeds.

It will take you about 30-40 minutes to prepare the appetizer. The level of complexity of cooking is medium.

Of course, it is better to cook this dish on a grill, but if this is not possible, an oven or microwave will do, and some housewives cook eggplants right above the gas stove, for the effect of an open fire.

1. Rinse the eggplant well, make small holes with a fork, from which steam will come out.

   Attention! Eggplant must be young.

2. Grill until the skin is charred. When ready, it should easily fall behind the pulp. Turn eggplant 3-4 times while cooking.

   To check the readiness of the eggplant, you need to slowly pierce it with a fork or knife. If you feel that the inside of the vegetable is soft, and the knife easily enters it, then the eggplant is ready.

3. Cool the eggplants, remove the skin from them, or carefully remove the pulp with a spoon, remove the seeds, then chop the flesh very finely with a knife, almost to the state of puree. You should not grind the pulp with a blender; small pieces of eggplant should come across in the appetizer. There is something special about this dish.
4. To the resulting mass, add finely chopped or crushed garlic.
5. Add tahini, spices, lemon juice (to taste), salt, greens and mix thoroughly. The consistency of the mass should resemble mayonnaise.
6. Let the pasta cool, put in a bowl and decorate the dish.

After cooking, it is advisable to let the dish brew for about an hour.

Before serving, you can pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil or any other oil on the baba ganoush and mix.

You can decorate by sprinkling with pomegranate seeds, and put a sprig of cilantro, thyme or parsley on top.

Babaganoush is also often garnished with olives or black olives, pickled cucumbers, bell peppers and walnuts.

Baba ghanoush is served with fresh warm pita bread or pita bread. You can simply spread it on bread, or serve a dish with a crispy fragrant baguette.

It all depends on your preferences. When cooking outdoors, baba ganoush is used as a barbecue sauce and served with grilled vegetables.

If you are interested in healthy food, then you should pay attention to puree soups that can be prepared from all kinds of products: from or, from, from, from and even from.

A photo

You can clearly see the babaganush in the photo below:

Useful video

How to cook eggplant baba ganoush, see the video:

Eggplant lovers will love this recipe. Cooking baba ganoush - an Arabic pate made from eggplant and sesame paste. I have already shown the recipe.
Babaganoush can be eaten just like that, used as a spread for sandwiches or in addition to other dishes as a sauce.

Ingredients

• Eggplant - 3-5 pieces.
• Sesame paste tahini - 2-5 tablespoons.
• Lemon juice or lime juice.
• Salt.
• Ground coriander.
• Hot red pepper ground.
• You can also add garlic, ground cumin, curry and other spices that you like to baba ganoush.

How to cook eggplant baba ganoush - recipe

First of all, you need to bake the eggplant. It is best to bake them on the grill, but this pleasure is not available to everyone. Therefore, we will use the oven.
Cover the oven rack with foil. We prick the washed eggplants with a fork in several places. During the baking process, steam will come out of the holes made. If eggplants are not pierced, they can burst in the oven and splatter the walls.

We put the eggplant grill in the oven and bake at a temperature of 220 degrees C. I can’t tell you the baking time, because it depends on the size of the eggplant.
They should completely soften. I have large eggplants, these need to be baked for about an hour, or even more. Small eggplants can soften in 20 minutes.

It is better to bake eggplants in the lower part of the oven, it is faster. Turn the eggplant several times during the baking process so that they are baked evenly on all sides. Ready eggplants look wrinkled and wrinkled, with dark tan marks on the skin.

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Let them cool down a bit.

Then we take a tablespoon and use it to separate the eggplant pulp from the peel. Set aside the pulp in a separate bowl.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add to the eggplant pulp. Adjust the amount of lemon juice in baba ganoush to your taste so that it is not too sour. I added the juice of half a small lemon to 4 large eggplants.

Now add the sesame paste to the eggplant. You can also adjust the amount to your liking. If you do not like tahini, then you can not add at all.

Then add salt and spices. I don't add butter to baba ganoush because my tahini is already buttered. If you do not use tahini, then add vegetable oil to the eggplant - sesame, olive, linseed or any other.

We mix all the ingredients.

And grind with a blender to the state of pate. If you do not have a blender, then you can grind the eggplant with a fork, pusher or wooden mallet.

Sprinkle the finished babaganush with fresh, finely chopped herbs. Cilantro is perfect with this pate.

Serve with homemade tortillas - pita or chapati. See the recipe for the cakes in my next video.