Baba Ganoush from Middle East

Baba Ganoush is a classic aubergine dip found all over the Middle East region.  Incidentally, aubergine is also known as eggplant and brinjal.  It just depends on where in the world you come from.  Baba Ganoush is very easy to make and is best served with pita bread or pita chips.  To make pita chips, you just cut the pita bread into 4 wedges and bake them in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius until they are lightly browned and crisp.  The trick to making a great Baba Ganoush, is to roast the aubergine so that you get a smoky flavour.

1 large aubergine
2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cumin
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
drizzle of olive oil for presentation
Roast your aubergine with the skin on in the oven for about half an hour at 190 degrees Celsius.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes before you remove the soft insides.
While the aubergine is doing its thing, mix the tahini, finely chopped garlic, cumin, lemon juice and salt in a bowl.  Use a fork to mash the roasted aubergine which you removed from its skin, into the tahini mixture.  Don't make it into a puree as you want it to have some texture.  Stir in the chopped parsley and drizzle with olive oil just before serving.  You can make Bab Ganoush ahead of time as it lasts about 2 days in the fridge.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com