The inspiration for today’s recipe comes via the New York Times’ Cooking section. It bears a passing resemblance to baba ganoush, the roasted eggplant dip, but the addition of yogurt to the mix gives it more body and structure. Because of that added body, this lovely vegetarian dip would serve just as well as a salad course, or even as an unconventional sandwich spread. The trick is to get the eggplants properly charred, which requires much more time in the oven than you would think. I remember my grandmother making charred eggplant and just killing it dead. “Gram, the eggplants are done.” She would shuffle over to the oven and give them a glance. “Not even close,” she would say.
Another twenty minutes would pass. “Gram, they’re gonna burn.” She would chuckle. “That’s the point of charring, honey.” Sigh. Yet another twenty minutes would pass, and by this point, I was sneaking into the hallway to remove the batteries from the smoke detector. When she would finally pull them out–after a whole hour–they were blackened, shriveled and partially collapsed.
“Now they’re ready,” she would finally say. Sure enough, after they had cooled a bit, she would cut them open and they were silky and perfectly done on the inside. Whatever. Of course, I couldn’t have any until I put the batteries back in the smoke detector and apologized for doubting her.
Fast forward to today. This version has a few more steps to it, but they’re not nearly as difficult as actually waiting for the eggplants to be done. You’ll still get that beautiful, smoky, concentrated eggplant flavor, but it’s rounded out by the creaminess of the yogurt, the tang of the balsamic vinegar and the fruitiness of the final drizzle of olive oil.
The original recipe called for a couple of ingredients that had to be worked around for reasons of principle and availabiliy. It called for dried mint, for one. The mere thought sent Kyle into a corner, where he sat hugging his knees and twitching, muttering “No. Just NO.” He was coaxed back into the kitchen with a bundle of fresh mint. As for the lemon and garlic, he borrowed the technique from the Zahav Hummus recipe and steeped the minced garlic in the lemon juice for a milder, smoother flavor note.
He also used the balsamic vinegar in place of the pomegranate molasses listed among the original ingredients. The pome-what? We couldn’t find it anywhere, and if you have some lying around, feel free to add a drizzle. Side note: After a little research, we discovered that pomegranate “molasses” is simply the pomegranate juice equivalent to a balsamic reduction. You heat the pomegranate juice and reduce it to a thick syrup. Of course, we didn’t have any pomegranate juice, either. (Curses!) Heads up, though, that sounds amazing and just might have to happen at some point.
The balsamic lent just the right amount of brightness and tang to the dip, so all was not lost. Once everything was added to the bowl and folded together, we had a beautiful summer dish full of fresh flavors and with a wonderful, rich texture. It’s topped with a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, which formed lovely, enticing little pools on the surface of the dip. It just makes you want to dive right in. Serve it with pita wedges (gluten free or regular) for a light starter or snack, or add it to a mezze platter with fresh vegetables and watch it disappear. Enjoy!
Adapted from NY Times Cooking.
- 2 large eggplants
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup plain whole Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped mint, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Preheat oven to 500℉. Put the whole eggplants on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to pierce all over the skin of the eggplants. Cook, turning every 15 minutes or so, until the skin is completely blackened and charred and eggplants begin to soften and collapse, about 1 hour. Alternatively cook them on the grill or directly on a gas stovetop. Set aside to cool.
- Cut eggplants in half top to bottom and carefully separate the flesh from the skin with a spoon or paring knife. Discard the charred skin. Drain eggplant flesh of excess liquid in fine-meshed sieve for at least 30 minutes.
- Finely mince garlic cloves with the salt to create a paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl with the lemon juice. MIx and let stand 10 minutes.
- Transfer eggplants to the mixing bowl. Add olive oil, yogurt, mint, and balsamic vinegar. Mix well, then set aside to rest for a few minutes. Check seasoning and adjust.
- Put mixture in a low serving bowl. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with chopped mint and serve with pita bread and/or sliced vegetables.
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