Baba Ghanouj

This recipe is excellent. It uses slightly more tahini than others, and it works just fine. I had the bitterness problemmany times, and also occasional watery results, so I asked a classy Lebanese restaurant/deli. They prepare the eggplants the day before and drain them (peeled) in a colander (placed in a bowl) with a small plate and weights on top overnight. An astonishing amount of dark juices that contain the bitterness come out, and you will have a perfect result every time.

I slice the garlic into halves or quarters, make small slices in the skin of the eggplant, and push pieces of garlic into the eggplant prior to roasting. Then roast as above with the garlic in the eggplant. The roasted garlic adds a nice grarlic flavor without the sharpness of fresh garlic.

Piercing eggplant first is no joke. I ignored this and mine exploded, luckily on a gas grill with the lid down and not in my oven. 60 years cooking and still learning from mistakes!

Use smoked paprika if you don't want to grill. Microwave eggplant in 1/16 inch of water. Cook very well till falling apart. Mash with garlic, lemon juice, tahini, (per recipe) salt, 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika, mayonnaise. Lovely! Keep the skin - skin always has the good stuff doesn't it?

When I first followed this recipe, I felt like I had made eggplant flavored hummus. Tasty, but not the real thing. Now I mix the non-eggplant ingredients in a food processor (I use cold water instead of yogurt), chop the eggplant with a knife so there aren't any large pieces, and mix together. Also, cook on a charcoal grill if at all possible - that smoky flavor is really wonderful.

I brought this to a dinner. A phenomenal recipe that can sustain a few additions: I used graffiti eggplant, added a bit more garlic (3 cloves), (per another review) some lemon zest, and twice as much yogurt. It was phenomenal. I also added a bit of cumin, some pepper, and a bit of salt. Many people asked me how I made it, and I shared the recipe with a few. It was very well received.

A nice garnish is a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and a pinch of smoked paprika

The reason Martha Rose suggests refrigeration is because like all nut products, pastes & oils, tahini will go rancid if left too long in warm room temperatures. (She lives in LA which is quite warm year around).
If you aren't going to consume all of the tahini in a short time span it would be prudent to refrigerate it; unless, of course, you happen to like that sharp/sour rancid flavor.

This was my first time making baba ganoush. Overall I liked the taste but thought that it has a little too much tahini which overwhelms the eggplant flavor that I like so much. I will make it again but add tahini gradually to taste.

Excellent version; rich, deep flavors (it helped that the eggplant was really buried in the coals and charred). Maybe just a touch more lemon.

Can be made simply- without the food processor. While waiting for the eggplant to drain, I pressed the garlic, juiced the lemon, and stirred with overly-thick tahini that I had access to. I made sure to break of the chunks of tahini paste into the lemon/garlic mix, adding salt and some of the eggplant juice until I had a creamy consistency. Peeled and chopped the eggplant before it had cooled, stirred it all together- and 20 minutes total time I had a lovely side dish.

I’ve made this recipe about 5 times already because my husband loves it so much. We usually throw the eggplant on our charcoal grill the night before while we grill something else for dinner. Once the eggplant is cooked, i peel it, and squeeze as much liquid out as possible. Then i put it in the fridge for the following day when I'm ready to make baba ghanouj.

I agree with those who say there is too much tahini in this recipe. The amount of tahini detracts from the eggplant flavor (cooked on my grill). But this is no doubt a personal preference and the recipe is easily tweaked. I might even be tempted - if making and serving same day -to leave in some black bits of skin for an extra charred and smoky flavor (not to everyone's taste, I am certain).

Great recipe. Let’s face it, eggplant often turns mushy in recipes so why not make a creamy dip to start with? I cut larger eggplants into manageable pieces and incorporated the grilled caramelized cut surfaces into the purée with good results. I also roasted a large unpeeled garlic clove on the grill, expressing the resulting paste into the purée which added more smokiness. I imagine roasting bulbs of smaller garlic varieties would work as well.

This is a good recipe! Made just as described - charred the eggplant directly on our gas stove and then baked it. Boyfriend ranked this above hummus - which is a big deal in our household!