Say it quickly and you could think that Baba Ghanoush was named after someone called Barbara. It came to our notice as Lebanese restaurants began to proliferate in Melbourne. Now it is more or less a household term.
It is based on smoked or charred eggplant (aubergine) and tahini (made from ground sesame seeds). To these add some garlic, lemon juice and some spices and seasonings. This is according to Claudia Roden in “A Book of Middle Eastern Food“. And most other recipes are similar.
Because recipes for these traditional dishes hardly vary, it can be difficult to think outside the square or outside the bowl!
However, Tasmanian friends produced this very clever extension of the baba ghanoush concept. The recipe comes from the New Zealand magazine, Dish. It includes blackened eggplant, however, there is no tahini but tuna and white beans instead.
For the recipe, click here: Scorched Eggplant, Tuna and White Bean Dip