Moutabbal

You know what I learned during my travels in Turkey? The Turks can prepare eggplant really, really well. I find it such a finicky vegetable to cook with, as it can be too mushy or bitter, but without fail, every eggplant dish I ordered was insanely delicious (and I ordered many of them). One of the most memorable eggplant dishes that I ate was a meze - an eggplant dip with an intensely smoky flavour, one that I was hoping to replicate.

Unfortunately, I don't have a gas burner so I improvised and threw the eggplants under the broiler in my oven. While this method does not result in a smoky flavour (I'll have to try grilling it on the barbecue in the summer), it does make a wonderful eggplant dip.

Note to self: do not line the baking sheet with parchment paper when broiling things because the paper will BURN. Please see photographic evidence:

I've always thought the eggplant dip I love to order at restaurants was called baba ghanoush but learned the error of my ways from Deb and Wikipedia. Baba ghanoush contains eggplant, onions and tomatoes, whereas moutabbal only contains eggplant. To add to the confusion, some restaurants do label their moutabbal as baba ghanoush, and I'm sure different cultures use the two terms interchangeably.

I've been a bit intimidated about making this dip because it seems to require more steps than making hummus, but I'm here to tell you it's not as difficult as you think. You char the eggplant, peel it, mash the flesh, add everything else and ta-da, you're done. I like my eggplant a bit chunky so I mashed it with a fork but if you like yours smooth, throw your ingredients into a food processor and whiz everything together in there.

Moutabbal (Eggplant Dip)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I used long, Asian eggplants because that's what's readily available at my supermarkets. If you can only find the big North American eggplants, you will require additional baking time and should follow the instructions at Smitten Kitchen.

6 small long eggplants (about 2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste), well-stirred
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, or to taste
Pinch of cayenne or aleppo pepper
Pinch or two of ground cumin
Toasted sesame seeds or za’atar for garnish (optional)

Prick the eggplants a few times with a fork or tip of a knife and place on a baking sheet. Move the oven rack to the top row and place the baking sheet on the rack so that it's directly under the broiler. Broil the eggplants on high for about 15-20 minutes, turning the eggplants to evenly char the skin. The eggplants should be very tender when pressed. Let cool to room temperature.

Peel the skin from the eggplants, put the flesh in a large bowl and mash with a fork. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cumin. Alternatively, toss everything into a food processor or blender and pulse until combined for a smoother dip.

Taste and adjust ingredients if needed. I added a bit more tahini, salt and lemon juice.

To serve: Spoon into a bowl and drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter toasted sesame seeds or za’atar, if desired (I had neither on hand). Serve with pita wedges.