Week 7 of the 52 Weeks of Vegan Cooking on Reddit is an interesting week. The challenge is “New To Me.” Interesting but hard to do. I was a bit lost at first then I had some lunch. I found some discounted baba ganoush at the supermarket and I decided to try it. I’ve never really liked eggplants and my one attempt to cook with them several years ago was disastrous. Any way the dip was lovely and eggplants were on special so I decided to try making my own.

I used this recipe here.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 Eggplants (totaling 2 pounds or 900 grams).

3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

2-3 Tablespoons of Tahini.

1-2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.

1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin.

Juice of one Lemon (about 2 1/2 tablespoons).

Salt and Cayenne Pepper to taste. (I didn’t have cayenne pepper so i left it out).

1 Tablespoon of chopped Parsley.

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).

Poke the eggplants in several places with a fork. (I forgot this step but it doesn’t seem to have mattered). Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and brush the cut sides lightly with olive oil.

Place on a baking sheet, cut side down and roast until very tender, about 35-40 minutes.Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Scoop the Eggplant flesh into a large bowl and mash well with a fork.

Combine the Eggplant, Garlic, remaining Olive Oil, Tahini, Cumin, Lemon Juice, Parsley, Salt, and Cayenne. Mash well.

Allow to cool and eat.

Verdict: Great. I like making my own of this because I can control the amount of tahini (less) and garlic (more). I liked the cheezy flavor and it also makes for a great pasta sauce.