Eden Grinshpan's Baba Ganoush
During these past 2 plus months of quarantining, I’ve been greatly influenced by the creative culinary talents of Athena Calderone (@eyeswoon) and Eden Grinshpan (@edeneats). So imagine my delight when I came across a recipe for Baba Ganoush by Eden on Athena’s lifestyle blog. I knew it had to be a winner. (Side note: I love when great masters in the same space give each other credit; they also happen to be great friends.) If you don’t follow Athena and Eden, you should. They are delightfully down to earth, Athena’s homes (one in Brooklyn, one in Montauk) are comfortably impeccable and Eden and her husband are hilarious (plus their daughter is as precious as can be). And, of course, the food they turn out is simply and exceptionally delicious. Which brings me back to the Baba Ganoush…I never took a shot of the finished product ‘cause we were too busy scarfing it down. (Although I rather like the artful shot above of one of the eggplants I charred on the grill.) I assure you it was amazing, even though I didn’t have the pretty pomegranate seeds to sprinkle on top.
Ingredients
2 eggplants
1/4 cup garlicky tahini (I just added a grated garlic clove to my tahini)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
pomegranate seeds
pomegranate molasses
fresh mint
fresh basil
za’atar olive oil (In a bowl combine 2 tablespoons za’atar spice with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; stir until blended)
Preparation
Heat a grill (high heat). You can also use the burner on your stove, just be sure to line it with tinfoil.
Score the skin of the eggplant. Place on a very hot grill for 30 minutes until the skin is black and the eggplant has deflated, is fully cooked and has developed a smoky flavor, making sure to turn the eggplant several times on the grill.
Let cool on a strainer so all the juices drip away. Once cooled, removed the skin from the eggplant meat and place in a bowl with 1/4 cup of the garlicky tahini, fresh lemon juice and the kosher salt. Mix with a whisk until all is combined. You may need to add more garlicky tahini depending on the size of the eggplants.
Place a cup full of the dip into a bowl and using your spoon to spread it so there is a well in the center. Drizzle around a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses on top, then 1/2 tsp of the za’atar olive oil. Sprinkle on pomegranate seeds and garnish with leaves of fresh basil and fresh mint. Serve with warm bread. If you can’t find warm pita, challah works great too.
