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Baba Ghanoush: A mediterranean specialty that's easier than it sounds
Baba Ghanoush is hard to pronounce, but it’s incredibly easy to make.
The hardest part is waiting for your eggplant to bake, otherwise, it’s simple.
Gather your ingredients, throw them into your Vitamix (although any blender will do in this case), and you’ve got yourself a delicacy.
A dairy-free dip that isn't hummus
Don’t get me wrong, I love hummus.
Growing up in Jerusalem, hummus was like our peanut butter. I grew up on the stuff. And I’m really glad Americans have embraced the chickpea dip over the past decade or so. It’s on pretty much every mainstream menu and is an awesome appetizer for those with food allergies or specific diets.
But I gotta tell ya, I can’t eat the stuff every single day.
So sometimes I like to sub it out for baba ghanoush. Similar concept, similar flavor profile and still fits the bill for allergies and special diets. But is different enough to feel like a treat.
Make it perfectly every time
This week we were experimenting with our Perfect Blend Scale and iphone app. Vitamix has preloaded tons of awesome recipes into the app and you can even filter by vegan.
I saw this recipe for baba ghanoush and thought I’d give it a try. My only tweak was less tahini (accounted for in recipe below). For being based out of Cleveland, Ohio, I gotta say, they nailed this mediterranean dip.
We served it with pita, falafel and veggies. But it’s equally as good on pita chips.
When you get sick of hummus, give baba a chance. You’re gonna love it!
Recipe
Baba Ghanoush
A healthy mediterranean dip that's dairy-free
Ingredients:
- eggplant - 1 whole (415 g)
- tahini - 1/4 cup (37 g)
- lemon juice - 3 Tbsp. (30 g)
- olive oil - 2 Tbsp. (15 g)
- parsley (fresh) - 1/2 cup (9.5 g)
- garlic - 2 small cloves (8 g)
- salt - 1 tsp. (5 g)
- cumin - 1 tsp. (2 g)
Instructions:
ROAST
- Broil each side of the eggplant for 10 minutes
- Turn oven to 350 F and bake for 30 more minutes
- Let cool
- Scoop eggplant guts out of skin
BLEND
- Add all ingredients into the Vitamix container
- Blend on high for 20-30 seconds (you want to keep some texture)
- Pour into a bowl and serve with veggies or pita
- Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Enjoy!
Useful tips for Baba Ghanoush
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Thank you for this recipe. My vitamix is brand new, but I think it’s going to be a good friend. I’d appreciate your comments. My tendency would be to slice the eggplant into one inch slices and try to char it a little bit on the outside. Also, vitamix has a recipe for tahini. Could I use sesame seeds to make make the tahini at the same time?
Why is it recommended to remove the skin? It seems like the vitamix would nicely process it.
We write our recipes to make them as simple as possible, but you certainly can slice it into smaller pieces and give them more char (sounds delish). Making tahini at the same time is a great idea! Removing the skin is just a texture preference, the Vitamix can absolutely handle it, so feel free to keep yours on 🙂
I tried doing this recipe and i doubled it, but it would simply shred the eggplant i could get the smooth consistency, the tamper wouldnt reach, i doubled the recipe and still no luck
I am using the smart blender with the stock container 64 i think
Any suggestions?
Hmm, are you using really small eggplants? The tamper should be easily able to reach the ingredients in the 64oz container. Perhaps try again with a large eggplant or do 4 small ones? The minimum batch size for that container (and the texture we’re looking for) is about 3 cups of cooked eggplant.
Lol late reply, i had the old tamper, vitamix sent me the newer tamper so i will try that, i went by weight rather than size
I will give it another shot
Is the 415g = to 3 cups cooked?
That’s about how long it usually takes me to reply to recipe comments too 😂 Weight of eggplant is before cooking.
This sounds amazing! I love Baba Ghanoush. My question is do your broil and then bake the eggplant whole, or do you slice it in half? If whole, do you need to puncture wholes in the skin to let heat escape?
Yep, broil and bake whole! We didn’t puncture the skin, but can’t hurt 🙂
Do you add the eggplant to the vitamix with or without the eggplant skin. the recipe doesn’t say scoop out the insides but I need to be certain
My apologies, Esti. Scoop it out of the skin. I’ll update the recipe now!
Why insult Cleveland, Ohio? It’s a great city with ethnic diversity and cuisine that reflects its richness.
I’ll gladly try the recipe because it originated in Cleveland!
🙂
Didn’t mean to offend, Mary. My comment was intended as a joke about how far geographically Ohio is from the Middle East. I’ve traveled to Cleveland on several occasions and am always impressed with the diversity in cuisine.
Having never had Baba Ganoush before, it’s really easy to make and very tasty. It appeals to me because it’s healthy and compliments my vegetables. I actually want to eat more veggies so I can just Baba Ganoush
Yes! That’s what great dips are for… vehicles to get more veggies into our mouths!