This recipe is for the famous mezze baba ganoush. It’s a simple Middle Eastern dish packed with flavors and entirely plant-based.
Before I start with the recipe, I would like to clear up some confusion about baba ganoush. I have seen that most recipes online for baba ganoush are, in fact, for mutabal!
The difference between baba ganoush and mutabal
There is a huge difference between the two—well, not that huge. I mean, they both do share the hero roasted eggplant, hence the confusion. However, the other ingredients in the recipe for both are quite different. Below are the similarities and differences between the two dishes.
- Both recipes call for roasted eggplant; however, for mutabal, the eggplant is creamed like humus, and in baba ganoush, it’s chopped into chunks.
- Tahini and yogurt are added to mutabal BUT not to baba ganoush.
- Fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and herbs are added to baba ganoush but not to mutabal.
Recipe ingredients:
- Eggplants: This recipe uses the black globe eggplant (long eggplants shown in the picture above), which is meatier since we need the flesh after roasting.
- There are two ways to roast eggplants: in the oven or on the stovetop (gas stove). For this recipe, I roasted the eggplants in the oven (whole eggplants), as mentioned in the details below.
- Red and Green peppers: fresh peppers are used and chopped finely
- Tomatoes: fresh de-seeded tomato and finely chopped
- Garlic: roasted in the oven and then minced.
- parsley and mint
- Pomegranate seeds and walnuts for garnishing.
- Olive oil
- lemon juice
- Pomegranate molasses.
Tips & tricks to make the best baba ganoush!
- After roasting the eggplant and scooping out the flesh, chop it into chunks and not smash it into puree or put it in the food processor. The eggplant’s texture needs to be chunky and not a smooth puree.
- Drain the roasted eggplant in a colander before adding the other ingredients. Trust me, you don’t want a soggy baba ganoush. Leave it in the colander for 5-10 minutes until almost all the liquid is drained. For the tomatoes, make sure to deseed them and get rid of any liquid.
Serving Suggestions:
- Serve this delicious and healthy dish as an appetizer, along with Vegan mutabal or Arabic samosa!
- The best way to serve it for me personally is with crispy bread!
- Alternatively, you can enjoy it with fresh veggies like carrots/ celery sticks, julienned peppers, or fresh cucumber rounds.
Storing:
The best way to store baba ganoush is in an airtight container in the fridge. It can last up to four days. It’s just better not to add the fresh herbs (parsley and mint) and the dressing; add those when you serve it only.
This recipe is excellent for a mezze platter or any gathering. I usually prep the eggplants a day before since roasting them in the oven is time-consuming (but worth it). I then store them in the fridge and add the other ingredients just before serving.
Recommended Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to check the below Vegan recipes at VBA:
If you make this recipe, I’d love a comment and a rating. Please make sure to tag me in re-creation on Instagram @veganbilaraby. I love to see your take on my vegan recipes 💚
Baba ganoush
Equipment
- Oven for roasting eggplants
- Chopping board
- Colander
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants medium size
- ¼ cup red peppers finely chopped
- ¼ cup green peppers finely chopped
- 1 tomato medium size, deseeded.
- 1 clove garlic
- ⅛ cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- ⅛ cup fresh mint finely chopped
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds for garnishing
- ¼ cup walnut chopped for garnishing
Dressing ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1½ tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ lemon juiced
Instructions
Oven-roasted eggplants:
- Preheat the oven to 220°C.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside.
- To prep the eggplants for oven roasting, first thing rinse under cold water & dry each eggplant using a kitchen/paper towel.
- Using a fork poke several holes throughout each eggplant.
- Arrange the eggplant on the baking tray & transfer it to the oven.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until they are fully cooked and softened, making sure to turn them halfway through. Depending on your eggplant size it might take longer to fully cook them or less time.
- In the last 5 minutes add the clove of garlic to the eggplant in the oven to roast (drizzle the clove with love oil first then pop in the oven)
- Remove the eggplants from the oven and let them cool before using them.
Making baba ganoush:
- Once eggplants are cooled, slice them open and scoop out the flesh with a spoon and transfer them to a chopping board. Chopp them into med-size chunks.
- Transfer the roasted chopped eggplants to a colander and let the liquid drain for 5-10 minutes.
- To a mixing bowl add the eggplants, chopped peppers, tomato, parsley, mint, and minced roasted garlic clove.
- Add the dressing ingredients, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, salt, and lemon juice. Mix to combine.
- Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with pomegranate seeds and chopped walnuts, dig in and enjoy.
Delicious