Smoky Baba Ghanouj, Served in Roasted Red Bell Peppers

Name: Smoky Baba Ghanouj, Served in Roasted Red Bell Peppers
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Lebanese Coastal & Mountain
Ingredients: 4 medium eggplants; 6 tbsp tahini; 3 tbsp lemon juice; 0.25 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1 medium tomatoes; 2 tbsp dark sesame oil; 1 tbsp halal-certified soy sauce; 4 large red bell peppers; pita bread

Oven-baked aubergine, red bell peppers and tahini, a Lebanese dip.

1 hr 30 min · Serves 8 · Medium

Method

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Time: Prep 30 min · Cook 60 min · 90 min total
Difficulty: medium

1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take 4 eggplants of medium size. Chop off the hard top 1" of each eggplant, and then cut each eggplant in half.
2
Cut deep incisions 1/2" apart, lengthwise and widthwise. Then turn the half over, and make several deep punctures in the skin of the eggplant.
3
When finished, place the halves with the inner flesh facing upwards on a baking sheet (or two), and bake for 1 hour.
60 min
4
After the eggplants have baked for an hour, take them out of the oven, and cut each half into six to eight large chunks.
5
Then put all the chunks into a blender, and blend to as smooth a consistency as possible. Next add the following ingredients: 6 tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste), 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of fresh finely chopped cilantro, 2 tbs dark sesame oil.
6
Blend again,'til you have a paste-like consistency. At this point, start tasting the baba ghanouj.
7
The tahini gives a smooth texture and creamy taste. The lemon juice naturally makes the mixture tarter and wetter; so they balance each other out.
8
If one seems to be dominating the mixture excessively, add a bit more of the other. The sesame oil adds moisture; you may want more or less of this.
9
So, taste it as you go and see what it needs. Next (or simultaneously while mixing): Cut the 4 red bell peppers in half, and place skin-side up under broiler for 10-15 min, until skin is half red, half black.
15 min
10
Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, place the red bell pepper halves skin-side-down on serving plates, and spoon a few tablespoons of baba ghanouj atop each.
11
Garnish each with a sprig of cilantro atop the baba ghanouj, for prettiness. There will likely be baba ghanouj left over, so get some pita bread to make sandwiches.
12
Or, make sandwiches in the first place, by slicing the red bell peppers up and putting those with the baba ghanouj inside of pita.