Baba Ghanoush... with a twist :-)

Rich, Smoky and Creamy cooked eggplant paste.. a nice and tasty dip to eat with vegetables or with just pita bread. Making this baba ganoush recipe, an amazing roasted eggplant dip, at home is so simple.

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds or 900 grams)

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) tahini

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice

• 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced

• 1/4 teaspoon roasted and ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. You can bake, grill or fry the eggplants depending on your choice. Grilling it in the oven or on top of gas stove is the best option.

2. Place eggplants onto the baking sheet and prick in several places using a fork. This helps steam escape while the eggplants roast. Broil eggplants 2 minutes on all sides. The skin will darken a little and begin to smell smoky, adding lots of flavor to the dip.

3. Do not remove eggplants from the oven. Heat oven to 375 degrees F, and then roast eggplants until very soft; 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutes until easily handled.

4. Meanwhile, combine tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and the salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

5. Split the roasted eggplants, drain excess liquid, scrape out the flesh and add to the tahini mixture. (Discard excess liquid and skins). Mash eggplant into tahini mixture with a fork until somewhat smooth with some texture remaining. If you like to get a smooth paste, you can use a blender and blend it well.

6. I added some paprika to the mixture to add some taste.

7. Cool to room temperature then stir in parsley and drizzle the top with olive oil.

8. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 5 days.

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