Cooking the aubergines until they are soft and charred is what gives baba ghanoush its lovely smokey flavour. I achieve this by either roasting the aubergines under the grill or cooking them on the barbeque.
On the recommendation of some cookbook, I did try cooking them directly over the gas flame – an ill-fated experiment that ruined a fork, set off the fire alarm and had me cleaning the hob for a week afterwards.
Baba ghanoush
(makes 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large aubergines (eggplants)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tb tahini
- 2 Tb olive oil
- juice of a lemon
- 2 Tb parsley, chopped
- Prick the aubergines all over with a fork. Place them on a baking sheet lined with tin foil, and cook them under the grill until the skin is charred and the flesh is soft when pressed.
- In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with the salt. Work in the tahini, olive oil and lemon juice.
- When they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scrape the flesh into a sieve. Leave it to drain for twenty minutes or so.
- Combine the aubergine with the garlic mixture, mashing it with a fork to give the dip a creamy consistency. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ten More Bites 
Thank you for sharing your experience of cooking aubergines over the gas flame, although it made me laugh (sorry.. it, probably, wasn’t so funny for you at the time), I’ll try to avoid making the same mistake in the future 🙂
I love Baba Ghanoush but haven’t made / eaten in a long time.. Thank you for reminding about it 🙂
Having tried it, I can’t see how you could do it without making a mess. Maybe by covering everything but the flame in tin foil? Any tips gratefully received…
I bake the aubergines on a baking tray in the oven. Usually it works just fine.
Looking forward to summer when I will have lots of eggplant to get my fill of this lovely dish
Maybe we’ll be around to have some with you!
Hello Andrea –
I just LOVE searing peppers over a gas flame; it’s so dangerous and exciting! But I figure eggplants are too squeamish and probably go sloppy. I’ll try your method. But do try peppers; the smoky flavor is seductive.
SHEILA
I can see peppers working better than that eggplant did. I’ll summon my courage and try gas flaming one more time…