Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Dip with Toasted Pita Wedges Recipe

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Dip with Parsley

1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil plus more for brushing eggplant
1 large whole head of garlic, unpeeled
4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves ( I pulse in my food processor)
Preheat oven to 450°F.

Prick eggplant with a fork several times and on a baking sheet brush with oil to coat.
Cut off and discard top quarter of garlic heads, making sure you can see the cloves and place the garlic in middle of a large piece of parhcment paper or you can use foil however it may stick, I only use parchment. Sprinkle garlic with 1 teaspoon oil and fold the garlic completely in parchment paper face down. Place packet next to eggplant on baking sheet and roast in middle of oven, turning eggplant after 30 minutes, 45 to 50 minutes, or until eggplant is very soft and falls down. Cool.

Transfer eggplant to cutting board. Cut off and discard stem end and halve eggplant lengthwise. Scoop flesh out into a bowl, scraping as close to skin as possible. If there is any liquid pour it out.
Squeeze roasted garlic from skins into a food processor. Add eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, parsley, and salt to taste and blend until smooth and parsley is minced fine. Dip may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, keeping covered. Transfer dip to a bowl and serve with toasted pita wedges.

27 comments

SandraSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:10 AM
Claudia, this sounds so good! I love eggplants and your recipe!
Angie's RecipesSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:26 AM
I have yet to try the roasted aubergines...wonder what I have been waiting for...
This looks so smooth and delightful!
AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:27 AM
This looks so yummy and so easy to make! Great football watching snack!
alisonSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:33 AM
your dish is really mouth watering!:)
UnknownSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:51 AM
YUM Yum YUM! This dip has so many of my favorite tastes and flavors and yum! I can't wait to give this a try!
AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 2:04 AM
This sort of appetizer is always a winner.I love it even better with big young garlic cloves;))
FedericaSeptember 8, 2011 at 2:13 AM
This eggplant dip is very tasty. I like it very much. Bye, have a great day
UnknownSeptember 8, 2011 at 3:25 AM
I think this have a great taste because i love the garlic.
aer conditonatSeptember 8, 2011 at 3:34 AM
In my opinion this looks like a delicious recipe and i think that it is not so difficult so i will try it very soon. I will post again after i will try it, thanks for sharing.
CandaceSeptember 8, 2011 at 7:57 AM
This would be the perfect dip to have with drinks on the deck this weekend. It looks delicious!
CurtSeptember 8, 2011 at 8:03 AM
My absolute favorite flavor is garlic. A close second is onions.

My wife can attest to the fact of how much garlic and onion I eat!
StephenCSeptember 8, 2011 at 8:07 AM
I have an eggplant I bought yesterday and have plans for. When I see this I'm thinking maybe I should change my plans. My preference is to cut a head of garlic across the center and roast the whole thing. I hate to waste any of it.
Belinda @zomppaSeptember 8, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Perfect potluck dip!
My Little SpaceSeptember 8, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Claudia, this sounds pretty interesting. Wish I can have a scoop right now. Yummm
Kristy
Big DudeSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:49 PM
A local serious hole in the wall Egyptian restaurant introduced us to this as Baba Ganoush and we really liked it. I was just in the garden and wondering what to do with the 3 small eggplants I have and along comes your recipe - amazing how often that happens.
Arlene DelloroSeptember 8, 2011 at 1:00 PM
There's nothing like the flavor of roasted veggies and eggplant becomes so smoky and delicious! A great dip.
VictoriaSeptember 8, 2011 at 2:07 PM
Love this! It's essentially baba ganoush, one of my favorites. One of the best dips out there, if you ask me :)
Chelle BSeptember 8, 2011 at 2:10 PM
As I was reading this all I was thinking about was how perfect this would be packed for lunch. Looks so delicious.
ClaudiaSeptember 8, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Grand idea doing this with the roasted garlic. I will be roasting away this weekend.!
ReeniSeptember 8, 2011 at 8:45 PM
Your eggplant dip with tahini sounds fabulous! Love that you roasted the garlic too!
Vicki BensingerSeptember 8, 2011 at 10:52 PM
This sounds just like hummus but with eggplant. I love eggplant, I'll definitely try this - I can't wait! You always come up with such great creations!
UnknownSeptember 9, 2011 at 7:24 AM
I love roasted eggplants, and this recipe sounds wonderful, i have problems only to get tahini. I'll try to make it because sesami seeds i can find easily. Thanks for sharing.
judeeSeptember 9, 2011 at 8:28 AM
claudia,
Thanks for the inspiration. I just started the Eat to Live vegan diet and have been looking for some variety. This recipe works. Yum
DrickSeptember 9, 2011 at 8:42 AM
I have never seen this dip before or anything like it using eggplant like that... great
oregonphotographySeptember 9, 2011 at 1:48 PM
What's there not to like about a cool home-made dip especially when garlic is involved! Best to you and your family!
CatherineSeptember 10, 2011 at 5:28 PM
Dear Claudia, I love eggplant and Love garlic! wonderful dip. The toasted pita's sound very good, but I would love to dip the fresh bread you made in it. Blessings, Catherine xo
Magic of SpiceSeptember 14, 2011 at 9:47 PM
I adore garlic so this is so for me :)