Baba Ganoush

There's something so indulgent about scooping up Baba Ganoush (or Mutabbal)  with pieces of pitta bread and cleaning out the whole bowl.

On a recent trip to Jordan we saw both Mutabbal and Baba Ganoush on the same menu. I thought they were the same delicious smoky aubergine dip only regional differences, but apparently (in Jordan) mutabbal only contains tahini, where as baba ganoush may contain many other ingredients, even chopped tomatoes and does not even require tahini. So there we are, mystery solved.

Ingredients
2 large aubergines
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
juice of 1 lemon ( 2 - 3 tbsp) to taste
1 tbsp olive oil, extra to drizzle

70g Tahini


Method

Cut a few slits into the aubergine then place under a hot grill for 15-20 minutes, turning once or twice. The skin should be charred giving the dip its distinctive smoky flavour and the flesh should be soft. 

Allow the aubergines to cool down enough to handle then cut open and scoop out the flesh, scraping the skin well to remove as much of the flavour as possible.

Blend the aubergines with all the other ingredients (except for the olive oil).  I used a food blender set on pulse mode as not to over blitz it. It's best with some texture.