Baba Ganoush

The elegant aubergine.

The aubergine is the glamour-queen of vegetables, all smooth and darkest-purple with that pistachio green hat, so elegant.  I think they are so pretty, sometimes I buy them just to look at them.

If I ever have an interior designer ‘do’ my home, and they ask me to create a mood-board for my bedroom, I shall just hand over an aubergine and say ‘I want that!’

Last year I grew one of my own. My plant produced just one gorgeous fruit, an edible Barbamama promising to transform into whatever delight I imagined. I was so proud, but what does one do with a single aubergine? Babaganoush of course! A perfect serving for 1, me!

Here is my recipe; this time I’ve used 3 aubergines, as you may want to share.

3 aubergines

3 cloves of garlic

½ cup tahini

1 tbs olive oil

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp paprika

Juice of half a lemon (more to taste)

Salt and black pepper

Put the aubergines under the grill, watch them and turn them until the skin is nicely charred. Remove from the grill and put them on a tray in the oven (180degrees) for about 40 minutes. Poke the aubergines with a skewer; they should be soft and mushy inside. Let the aubergines cool.

baba ganoush.

Once cool, split them open and scoop the flesh into a bowl, and discard the skins. Add the rest of the ingredients and mash the mixture with a fork. Taste, add salt, pepper and, if required, a little more lemon juice to suit your palate.

The mix is best left to mature for a couple of hours in the fridge before serving. To make it pretty, you can drizzle some more olive oil over the top and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with toasted pita and a bowl of black olives as an aperitif.