I think most of us are familiar with the food guru that is Elise of Simply Recipes. None of her recipes have ever disappointed me or my fellow eaters. One day long ago I came across her version of baba ghanoush (a Middle Eastern delight combining roasted eggplant, nutty tahini, and amazing spices to form one heck of a dip) and I was confident that it would be a winner, so into the black hole of saved recipes it went.
(I like big butts.)
Fast forward a few months. I found myself with an eggplant and a craving for a spicy dip other than guacamole (which always seems to be present in my fridge). Finally, out of my abyss of an archive came Elise's recipe.
Of course, I couldn't help myself--I did some minor tweaking. I bumped up the cumin, one of my favorite spices, to 1 teaspoon and, although it's not pictured, there ended up being way more than 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro scattered on top. The end result was magnificent--creamy and smoky and perfectly zippy--and I found myself once again wishing for some homemade pita bread.
Because I've had my eye on this recipe for many moons, I'm submitting it to Ruth's Bookmarked Recipes event.
One bookmarked recipe down, approximately 295,923,524 to go.
I've never made baba ghanoush before. It looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the Beach Boys.
It looks really cool! What kind of flavor does it have?
ReplyDeleteMmm baba Ganoush! Have you tried the greek eggplant dip? That's also gorgeous.
ReplyDeletemmmmm i love baba ghanoush! i will have to try this recipe because the two times i have made it previous it was too tahini-y. also, i am looking for apple cinnamony goodness recipes - seek my blog woman.
ReplyDeletei love dips of all sort! yummm and with cumin! This seems so wonderfully delish!
ReplyDeleteI've actually never had the ghanoush before either...and I so under use egg plant. I'll have to try this one out--it looks (and sounds) great!
ReplyDeleteI've never tasted baba ghanoush. Your first picture is so "dip-able" I really want to try it now.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE baba ghanoush. But I eat it with a spoon as a side dish. Don't get me wrong, it's excellent as a dip too. :)
ReplyDeleteYours looks terrific!
I think you can never have an excessive amount of cilantro. I once even considered dabbing some behind my ears. I didn't, but I thought about it.
ReplyDeletei've never had this either, i live a sheltered life! my husband loves spicy so i'm gonna try this.
ReplyDeletethanks grace!
Hahaha. You always make me chuckle. Your ghanoush looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteLooks pretty..but too bad I am not a fan of eggplant!!!
ReplyDeleteFor the trophy for my acceptance speech..I was really torn between the masher and a whisk!LOL
Delicious! I end up adding copious amounts of cilantro to nearly everyting. Ok, not brownies, but just about everything else.
ReplyDeleteLooks so delicious Grace as always. :-)
ReplyDeletebaba ghanoush is one of my absolute favorite treats. I like the way you messed with the recipe. Eggplant and smokiness are perfect together.
ReplyDeleteI love this but the hubby is allergic to eggplant so I don't get to enjoy it as much as I'd like...boo-hoo! This is yum-o looking!
ReplyDeleteWow, now I'm craving baba ghanoush... I'll have to try this for lunch to go with the salami and feta cheese I was planning on having. AND, I need to buy some eggplant, uh, plants to stick in the garden.
ReplyDeleteGrace, eggplant is my all time favorite vegetable! Your baba ghanoush looks delicious, makes me want some.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm impressed - I've always wanted to make baba ghanoush - but I'm scared...it looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThat baba ghanoush looks great! I am looking forward to the eggplants and baba ghanoush will be one of the first things that I make with them.
ReplyDeleteI like the dip aspect of this...it'd make a fun side dish too...must try! My palate is so narrow, it's embarrassing -- keep the cool recipes comin'! :D
ReplyDeleteGosh that makes me so hungry :)
ReplyDeleteYummmm! Baba ghanoush is so good! I can hardly wait to harvest the eggplant in my garden!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see I'm not the only one who has a ton of recipes bookmarked. I think I even have this one bookmarked!
ReplyDeleteBaba ghanouj sure looks like a dish called eggplant salad (without the tahini)around here although its more of a dip than a salad and lacks this great kick of extra flavour.
ReplyDeleteLove middle eastern food. Baba Ghanoush is a favourite and I'm embarassed to admit I've never made it at home. I usually just pick it up on impulse in a mid sized container. I really should stop being so lazy. Yours looks seriously good.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is one of my daughter's favorite foods in the whole wide world. Passing this along to her. Good job Grace.
ReplyDeleteI've never made this at home! Must. try. it. soon!
ReplyDeleteI love eggplant, but I've never tried this dip! Now it's on my "to try" list! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love babaganoush a lot. Yum yum!
ReplyDeleteI used to work at a middle eastern restaurant, and you should have heard all of the exotic and interesting ways people tried to pronounce babaganoush. My favorite one was the very frenchie-sounding "Baba - gah- noo-eee" . Oo la la!
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic with the extra cumin!
Yum! This looks so great! Just discovered your blog-it's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteyou definitely need to make some pita bread to enjoy w/this :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks great. And the extra cilantro on top is sooo necessary!
ReplyDeleteBaba Ghanoush has always intimidated me. Maybe it's the name, maybe it's the use of eggplant...I don't know, but you've inspired me to give it a try. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThat looks creamy and delicious - I like the extra spicy version too. You and the home-made pita, so ambitious!
ReplyDeleteI love this smoky dip but haven't ever made it myself before. Couple of aubergines in the fridge though, so perhaps the time has come!
ReplyDeleteCumin is my favorite spice! Giving you a high five for upping the cumin!
ReplyDeleteOh girl! I LOVE Baba and, actually, ALL things eggplant. There is something "smoky" about it that I just love. Oh yum.
ReplyDeleteYour bookmarked list is down to just about the same as mine. By the time we are in our second lives, we'll be through with them all!
ReplyDeleteI've never made baba ghanoush before, but now I'm wanting some!!
ReplyDeleteGreat bookmarked recipe! Sounds like a great dip.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending this over for the round up!
This sounds fabulous. Amen sister, for bumping up the cumin (I find myself adding cumin to everything these days). Oh and thanks for the heads up that the title is to the Tune of Barbara Ann. Definitely needed that insight, but then laughed heartily.
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