Baba Ganoush

One of the greatest things you can eat, and ridiculously simple to make well. Along with hummus it has joined my repertoire more recently and because there is the added step of roasting the eggplants, I make it less frequently than the other…but enjoy it that much more. Like so many other things in this collection, there are as many opinions on how to make it as there are soul-less assholes at creative agencies. This is but one way – a great way, and a no fail way – but by no means the best way or only way. A note to those who think that it must be smoky or it ain’t Baba – you can go buy liquid smoke at the market for 2.99. You get your choice of hickory, mesquite, whatever. We don’t have the proper middle eastern outdoor oven and we’re not going to sit there holding an entire eggplant over an open flame in our kitchen, ok? We have better things to do, even if you don’t. Either roast your eggplants this way or get out of the way.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-large eggplants (about 3 pounds total)
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup lemon juice, strained of pulp
• 1 clove garlic, mashed into paste
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for roasting the eggplants
• 1 TBSP cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

You must begin by roasting your eggplants. Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Next, slice the green tops and very bottoms off your eggplant (I know that you already knew to wash off your eggplants so I didn’t mention it). Next, slice your eggplants in half lengthwise. You’re going to have to work quickly here – not in a manic way, but until you get them in the oven, everything should happen without interruption so your eggplants don’t oxygenate and discolor.

Lay your eggplants onto a sheet pan cut side up. Drizzle olive oil on the cut side and rub to evenly distribute. Eggplants are such unbelievable sponges that they soak up the oil almost instantly – you have to almost be almost simultaneously pouring olive oil over the backs of your fingers while you rub. If you quickly drizzle olive oil on all four eggplant halves, by the time you put the olive oil down to start rubbing, there will be nothing left to rub – it will all have soaked in. You really have to do this simultaneously. I suppose an olive oil mister would work too but I’ve never actually known anyone under the age of 60 who owns one.

Place your oiled eggplants into the oven and roast for about 50 mins to one hour. They’re done when they’re very fragrant and the open cut sides are the deepest chestnut brown they can be without burning. Anything burnt means bitter, and you don’t want that fucking up your baba, so if sections are burning, get it out of there. The real test of doneness though, regardless of color, is absolutely no resistance to the tines of a fork shoved into the meat. You got that, and you’re done. Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle.

When the eggplants are just about done cooling, it’s time to mash your garlic. You can do this with a mortar and pestle if you like, or with a garlic press, but I rarely do the former and have never owned the latter. Here’s a quick rundown on how to do it quickly and simply with the tools already at hand: slice the end of the garlic, crush it using the thick part of a large chef’s knife, and discard the skin. Give the crushed garlic a rough 3 or 4 chops, then consolidate into a pile in the middle of your cutting board and sprinkle a heavy dose of salt directly on it. The coarser the better, although rock salt is overkill. Then, holding your chef’s knife almost parallel with your cutting board, place the edge near the point on your garlic and press down with three fingers. Then, using a rocking motion, drag the blade towards you over and over again. (If you’re dragging the cutting board, wet a paper towel, wring it out, and place it flat under the cutting board to keep everything in place. You should have done that anyway. Your cutting board should never, ever move and if it is, that’s in fact one of the most dangerous things in a kitchen.)

The idea here is that the salt is acting as an abrasive (it is simultaneously drawing the water out of the garlic cells) as you press down and rub it across the cutting board. As the garlic melts first into fibers and goo and then into paste before your eyes, you should be scraping it around, re-piling it into the center of the board, and continuing to drag and scrape until you have a fine, non-chunky, non-stringy, homogenous paste on your board where once was a firm clove. If you must see an example, check it out here – this guy’s got it right, although he doesn’t use any salt.

OK so back to your cooled eggplants: you want to remove all the flesh from the eggplants and toss the skins, which you can do with a spoon, either holding the eggplant over a large mixing bowl or right on a cutting board. On the latter, the flesh should separate from skin instantly but gently dragging a spoon along its length. Make sure you do press against the skin either way, as there is valuable translucent flesh clinging directly to the skin. If the skin feels plum and juicy, there is still flesh to harvest – if it has been properly cleansed it will be very thin and light.

Once the eggplant has been flensed and the flesh and juices placed in a large mixing bowl, add all the other ingredients. Some folks do this in a food processor – I don’t think that’s the ideal texture and it certainly isn’t necessary. Take a large fork and using a  combination mashing/whipping motion, mash/whip until it is the proper consistency. Evaluate for seasonings and add salt/pepper/heat as needed, then serve and enjoy immensely.

Btw, hummus and baba seem to want to ferment pretty quickly if left out at room temp, so eat these or get them in the fridge asap. Also, you may add a tablespoon of minced fresh parsley to this if you like.