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Smoky Eggplant Spread

5.0(744)

Essentially a delightful eggplant schmear to eat with warm pita triangles, this spread, similar to baba ghanouj, gets its pleasant smoky flavor from a deliberate charring of the eggplant skin. Whether over hot coals or under the broiler, the eggplant must be mercilessly blackened (the inner sweet flesh gets steamed to softness in the process). Tahini, olive oil, cumin, lemon and hot pepper take care of the rest.

by David Tanis·published 2014-08-06

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Dips And Spreads

Servings

about 2 cups

Total time

40 min

Calories / serving

185 kcal

Ingredients (12)

serves

3 medium eggplants, about 2 poundseggplant
Saltsalt
1/4 cup tahini pastetahini
1/4 cup lemon juicelemon-juice
4 garlic cloves, mashed to a pastegarlic
1/8 teaspoon cayennecayenne
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted until fragrant and coarsely groundcumin
3 tablespoons olive oilolive-oil
1/2 teaspoon paprikapaprika
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsleyparsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped mintmint
Pita or other flatbread, for serving (optional)flatbread

Instructions (4 steps)

01Prepare a charcoal fire or heat the broiler. Pierce eggplants here and there with the point of a paring knife. Place eggplants 2 inches from heat source. Allow skins to blister and char, turning with tongs until entire surface is blackened and eggplants are completely soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
02Slice eggplants in half lengthwise and lay skin side down on a cutting board. Carefully scrape away flesh with a knife and put it in a colander. Discard burned skins. Do not rinse eggplant flesh — a few bits of remaining char is fine. Salt flesh lightly and leave for 5 to 10 minutes, then squeeze into a ball to remove liquid.

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Rich recipe — supports nutrition-aware planning.