Baba Ganouj - Roasted Eggplant Dip

A classic Middle Eastern dip made of roasted eggplant. Delicious!
Yield	4-6 servings
Time	1 hour plus time to chill
Tools	knife cookie sheet or grill platter spoon food processor or blender wooden spoon
Ingredients	2 pounds eggplant 1 T olive oil ½ c fresh lemon juice ¼ c tahini ¼ c plain yogurt (optional) 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ t salt
Directions	Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, score the face of each half with the knife, and brush each face with olive oil. Broil: Place eggplant face up on cookie sheet and put in pre-heated 450 oven. or Grill: Place eggplant face down over medium heat. Cook for 40-50 minutes, until eggplant is black and soft. (Smaller eggplants will take less time.) Lay out on the platter to cool. Optional: scoop the eggplant flesh out of the skin and place in blender or food processor. Discard skin. Blend/process on low speed for 30 seconds or so, until . Mix in remaining ingredients, taste, and add more tahini, lemon juice, and/or salt as necessary. Chill for about an hour. Spread baba ganouj in a shallow bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with vegetables, warm pita bread, or falafel.
Notes	The broiling/grilling step is the key to delicious baba ganouj: it makes the eggplant taste rich and smoky. Baba ganouj keeps pretty well in the fridge, except for one thing: the garlic gets stronger with each passing day. If you’re not planning to eat the baba ganouj right away, you might want to cut down on the amount of garlic in this recipe.
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