Summer dips: Roasted eggplant with tahini

I have taken to entertain friends for a glass of wine and appetizers instead of long, multi course dinners. It gives me a chance to visit rather than be up and down preparing, plating, serving and clearing. Not that dinner entertaining is over, but now when the weather is good it’s easy to say “come for a glass of wine”.

So far no one filed any complaints.

Since I keep my kitchen mainly vegetarian I have developed a repertoire of dips and spreads that I like to make and serve with sliced baguette or homemade this or that. One of my favourite dips is this mediterranean eggplant and tahini dip that makes use of the beautiful purple eggplant that are in season now.

To make it all you need to do is roast the eggplant until soft, scrape the flesh and mix it with tahini paste that you thin with water and lemon juice and flavour with garlic and salt.

I am trying to redesign my weekly newsletter so I’d like to get this post in before the end of the day and include it in the newsletter tomorrow. If you see the new newsletter drop me a line to let me know what you think.

Enjoy the dip.

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Ingredients:

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1 large, firm, shiny and unblemished eggplant

1/2 cup tahini paste

3/4 cup water or as needed

2 small garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon coarse salt or to taste

A handful of parsley, chopped

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Directions:

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Place the eggplant on a baking pan lined with foil and pierce with a fork a few times on top to allow steam to escape.

Roast in 400F oven for about 30-45 minutes or until the eggplant is soft throughout.

Remove from the oven and let cool a little.

Place the tahini in a large bowl and begin to add the water in a slow stream, whisking all the while until you reach a yogurt-like consistency. You may or may not use all the water, or you may need to add more. This depends on the consistency of the tahini you are using.

Add the lemon juice, garlic and salt.

When the eggplant is cool enough to handle cut it open and scrape the flesh into a plate.

Chop it up roughly and then add it to the bowl with the tahini, mixing them together.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed.

Fold in the parsley.

Refrigerate until needed. This keep a few days in the fridge, covered.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

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