Baba Ganoush is a beloved salad enjoyed throughout the Middle East. Each region—even within the same country—adds its own unique twist to the preparation. In Israel, it’s a particularly popular dish, commonly served at home, in restaurants, hotels, and at events venues.
This Baba Ganoush recipe shows 2 different seasonings prevalent in Israel, 2 different textures, and stove prep versus oven prep. Stick around to learn more.
In Israel, you don’t add bell peppers to the salad, and paprika is also not necessary. Though some do add cumin powder.
Ingredients
In the recipe below, the flavors are more mild with: eggplants (aubergines), fresh garlic, lemon juice, mayonnaise (You can make it with mayo + a teaspoon or 2 of Tahini if you change your mind about the tahini).
Preparation
The preparation is really easy. Depending on the technique you will choose from those that appear in the recipe below, that’s how long it will take you to make the recipe. But the initial preparation takes only a few minutes.
I hope you enjoy these Baba Ganoush preparation and ingredient variations.
For questions or comments, please refer to the Comments section beneath the recipe.
Enjoy!
Baba Ganoush No Tahini
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants, sliced into halves, or left whole (Globe eggplants: Medium size, or Italian Eggplants: Large),
Seasoning with Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste)
Garnish
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley leaves
Instructions
Note: The times vary depending on the preparation technique you choose.
For whole eggplants:
Step 1:
Option 1:
Without removing the top stem, place each whole (unpeeled) eggplant directly on a rack set over a gas burner to smoke the eggplant. Turn the flame to medium-high and roast, turning the eggplant every 5–10 minutes using tongs, until the skin is charred and blistered all over and the flesh feels soft and collapsed — about 30 minutes total.
Note: Yes, it's messy because there's a lot of liquid inside of the eggplant and because of the charred eggplant skin, but this is how I do it's done often to reach those bold, and lovable smoked flavors. This is for those who have no problem wiping off the burner area. Or:
Option 2:
Wrap eggplants together in parch paper which you will then wrap in tin foil. Bake in preheated oven set to 220C° (430°F) for around 50 minutes. Continue to Step 2 below.
Step 2: Drain
Remove the eggplant from burner, or oven (unwrap), and transfer it to a mesh sieve placed above a high bowl to drain the liquid from the eggplant for around 10 minutes.
Step 3: Removing the flesh from the skin:
The natural tendency is to peel off the skin, whether it was charred on the stove, or baked in the oven (in which the skin remains flexible). But it's best to spoon out the flesh from the skin instead. Here's how to do that:
- Lay each eggplant on parch paper.
- Grab the stem at the top, and make a slit down the skin.
- Insert a spoon deep into the flesh, reaching the skin at the other side. Then, gently scrape and pull the flesh downwards all the way to the other end, leaving the skin beneath intact.
Step 4: Putting the salad together
Option 1: Leaving the eggplant a chunky texture:
- Mix the seasoning with the Tahini in a bowl. The Tahini seems chunky at first, but it works out.
- Gently, and minimally, mix the eggplant flesh with a fork, leaving it chunky.
- Gently mix in the Tahini mixture. Transfer to a small serving dish or bowl, and garish with chopped parsley leaves.
Option 2: Pureeing the flesh:
- Mix the seasoning with the Tahini in a bowl. The Tahini seems chunky at first, but it works out.
- Stir the eggplant flesh well in a bowl, pour Tahini mixture inside. Mix well to create a smooth texture, as you can see in the featured image above.
For Roasting eggplant halves:
- Slice into halves. Do not peel.
- Brush the cut sides with olive oil (or neutral), and lay facing down on parch lined oven tray.
- Without covering the eggplant slices, bake them in a preheated oven set to 230C° (around 450°F) for around 25-35 minutes. Try not to roast for too long or they will end up drying out so much that you will have no flesh to work with.
- Follow Step 3 (Removing the flesh from the skin) and Step 4 (Putting the salad together) above.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 169Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 3mgSodium 180mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 9gSugar 11gProtein 3g
Nutrition values are estimated.