Eggplant dip – with only 4 ingredients, this dip is an easy and impressive summer appetizer, and dare I say, better than Baba Ganoush!
Dare I say this eggplant dip is better than Baba Ganoush? Oh, yeah – and I fully assume the responsibility for doing so!
This is one of my childhood favorites and I had to share it, as over the years I keep getting requests for the recipe. It’s super easy to make, and has less ingredients than its famous counterpart.
When I was a kid, we devoured insane quantities of this dip, always spread on a piece of fresh bread. This was a quick lunch for us busy kids, impatient to sit down and eat a proper meal, itching to go outside and play. We would eat half a bread loaf, smeared with this delicious stuff.
In those days, we made it really simple – only roasted eggplant, lots of garlic, lots of oil and lots of ground walnuts.
In recent years, I’ve added a small tweak to the recipe, inspired by my friend Mimi’s awesome eggplant dip – she adds mayonnaise in place of oil, and it elevates this dip to a whole new level. For e vegan version, replace the mayonnaise with good quality oil – 1/3- 1/2 cup, and add 1-2 Tbs vinegar.
You can serve it as a dip with your favorite pita chips, or crackers on the side, you can layer it thick on a piece of freshly baked Ciabatta, for instance, or you can get fancy, and serve it Bruschetta-style, topped with fresh tomatoes with garlic, olive oil and basil. Just make sure you spread it thick on that bread.
No prep work required as you roast the eggplant whole, until it’s super soft – about 40 minutes. Then cool it, peel it, and drain in a colander. Once the bitter juices drain out, you mix it with the mayo, ground walnuts, and lots of garlic and salt. It’s best if you do it by hand, instead of using a food processor, so you end up with a chunkier texture (at least that’s my personal preference). It’s also better to smash the garlic in a mortar with salt till you get a smooth paste.
You can store it in a jar and keep in the fridge for a week. It’s best eaten slightly cold.
Thanks for reading!
For more eggplant inspiration check these two recipes:
>> Baked eggplant in tomato-garlic sauce
>> Red pepper jam
Eggplant dip - with only 4 ingredients, this dip is an easy and impressive summer appetizer, and dare I say, better than Baba Ganoush!
- 2 large eggplants
- 1 cup ground walnuts
- 4-5 garlic cloves smashed
- 5-6 Tbs good quality no sugar added mayonnaise
- lots of salt
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Preheat oven to 400° F.
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Wash the eggplants, and pierce with a knife in a few spots. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until they are very soft. Let them cool.
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Peel the cooled eggplants, and tear them in big chunks. Place in a colander to drain for 15 minutes.
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Smash the garlic cloves with salt in a mortar till you get a smooth paste.
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Grind walnuts until you have pieces approximately the size of breadcrumbs or slightly bigger.
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Once the eggplants have drained, place in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, and mash with a fork, till everything is fully mixed.
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Garnish with chopped parsley, and serve as a dip, with pita chips, or smeared on toasted bread.
Thanks for this wonderful eggplant receipe