Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free
Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Dip)
Recipe

Gluten-Free Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Dip): Flavorful and versatile, this roasted eggplant dip makes a great appetizer, side dish, or salad.

Baba Ghanoush (aka, Baba Ghannouj or Baba Ghannoug) has been a favorite appetizer / snack of ours for years, and this recipe is one Laura created and tuned according to our tastes in order to bring forth the mildly smokey roasted eggplant (aubergine) flavor in conjunction with a bit of warmth from whatever types of pepper(s) we choose, and presented with the complementary flavors of garlic, lemon, and tahini (sesame paste).

We serve this regularly, in a gluten-free manner, with things like tortilla chips, gluten-free pretzels, and vegetable chips (as pictured below) to name a few. There are many possibilities for variations and serving suggestions, so experiment with whatever sounds good. If you have some gluten-free breads or pita chips around, those may work nicely too.

Note: this recipe makes a rather large quantity of Eggplant Dip - scale according to your needs.

Text Version of Gluten-Free Recipe

Approximately 4 pounds of washed Eggplant
Juice of 1½  – 2 Lemons
2 Medium Garlic Cloves
½ Large to Medium Sweet Onion
¼ Cup Sesame Tahini
1 – 1½ Tablespoons Ground Chipotle
¼ Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Drizzle cast iron pan with olive oil. Place whole washed eggplants in pan (single layer) and drizzle with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle garlic power, salt and pepper on top of eggplant. Place in pre-heated 450°F oven for one hour (or until eggplants are blackened and are mushy to the touch -- they should not be firm, or even slightly firm, once cooked to readiness). Remove eggplant from oven and allow to cool.

The roasted eggplants should look something like this when ready:

Remove flesh of eggplant from skin. Discard skin. Place flesh of eggplant in food processor.

Add lemon juice, garlic, onion, tahini and ground chipotle, mix until all ingredients are chopped (should not have any large chunks).

Add olive oil, blend. Add salt and pepper, blend.

The dip can now be consumed immediately. However, I prefer to let the dip sit overnight which allows the flavors to develop more thoroughly.

Here is one serving suggestion as pictured below... We placed the baba ghanoush on a small plate surrounded by gluten-free vegetable chips (somewhat like potato chips, but instead these are made from things like sweet potato, taro, carrots, green beans, and other vegetables). A sprinkling of fresh-ground black pepper over the eggplant dip topped things off.