You know how it is, you shop at the farmers market and you find beautiful eggplant and decide you’re going to make baba ghanoush to go along with your falafel wraps. I hadn’t been home 10 minutes before the eggplant went in the grill. (It took 10 minutes to get the photographs)
When it was charred and soft, I decided maybe I should check to see if I had all the bits to go in the dip. Uhhh… no. No tahini. In the back of my mind I did recall checking the use-by date and it was close so I tossed it out. I wasn’t going to waste a lovely already-roasted eggplant so in the blender it went, along with some nicely caramelized onions, some Greek yogurt, salt, pepper and a dash of cumin and coriander.
I loved it! John’s a dip traditionalist so he kept reminding me it wasn’t *real* baba ghanoush.
It was Father’s Day in Australia yesterday so we shut down the computers and headed to the nursing home for a little celebration. Not many fathers are active at 93 so Rob definitely needs a bit of excitement to honor the day.
We said we were coming over but he asked us to wait until later because all the fathers in the nursing home were given a free coffee and cake voucher and he and his pals were headed to the coffee shop to celebrate. He didn’t want to let his friends down by not going with them. He’s really cute.
Along with the normal Father’s Day gifts, I brought some fresh mango all cut up and some of this dip and chips to park in his fridge. He’s gaining weight but I’m not the one to tell him.
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 cup caramelized onions
- ¼ cup Greek Yogurt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground coriander
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- a few grinds of fresh black pepper
- In the BBQ or in the oven, roast the eggplant on high until the insides soften. I left mine in the BBQ for about 30 minutes but watch it. Temperatures might be different.
- Let cool.
- Add the caramelized onions to the blender and whiz for a few seconds. You want them broken up but not paste.
- Scrape the eggplant pulp into a blender
- Add remaining ingredients and whiz just to combine into a dip. I left mine just a bit lumpy.
- Place in serving bowl and drizzle with good olive oil and a dusting of paprika.
What a gorgeous sounding dip and much better than throwing out an eggplant! Aww that is sweet about him wanting to have coffee and cake with his pals!
I enjoyed the story about Rob. =)
Your recipe sounds delicious!!
Maureen! I love this dip – I LOVE eggplant, and I am not a fan of tahini so this is just perfect!! Thank you!
Oh, yum, Maureen – I adore eggplant, unfortunately not in season here yet – but will put this away to use in a few months time – thanks.
How lovely to see him still socializing with his buddies. And stocking his fridge with tasty snacks is a great idea.
I love baba ghanoush. I would just keep snacking on this dip and probably wouldn’t stop. Looks delicious, Maureen. 🙂
What a nice and healthy dip, definitely would give this recipe a try
There are not many foods I do not like. However, eggplant is one of them. I would like just the plain caramelized onion dip though.
Glad Rob got what he liked though. Perfect Father’s Day present. 🙂
How good is that, your dip looks wonderful! 🙂
Hi Maureen, although I like tahini, I don’t normally put it into my eggplant dip (sounds like you’ve discovered your version of my favourite eggplant dip). I might have to swap out the garlic for caramelised onions though, sounds like a winner!
What a fabulous dip, I could easily make a meal out of this (along with plenty of pita chips ;)).
Your dip looks fantastic, Maureen and inventing your own dip recipe is much better than heading back out to the shops for a jar of tahini. I’m glad Rob had a lovely Father’s Day. Great that he’s been able to make friends at the nursing home. And very good of you to visit him and fill his fridge with some good home cooking xx
What a fantastic dip, Maureen. This is how I would make baba ganoush if I were out of tahini.
I agree, your version, skipping a drive back to the grocery store, is much much better!
Don’t you hate when you “think” you’ve got it all and you realize some main ingredient is not there anymore? Sometimes I can see the bottle in my mind, its exact location, but… nah…. not the bottle I was thinking.
I haven’t mastered levitating to the pantry yet. Shame.
(hope you had a wonderful time, it was not Father’s Day in Brazil, that was in August, but unfortunately Dad is not along anymore)
My father is long gone so I borrow Rob on Father’s Day and he doesn’t mind one bit. 🙂
How interesting, Maureen! Father’s day is also celebrated on a different date in Brazil. How blessed your husband is… His Dad is 93 and active.
I have always been crazy for eggplant. I order baba ghanoush often when I go to Mediterranean restaurants. I think the addition of caramelized onions made this dip even more delicious contrasting their sweetness with earthness of the roasted eggplant.
Such an inventive and delicious dip, Maureen… sending hugs to Rob… glad he enjoyed Father’s Day. And I loved the photo of Charlie with the sign on (instagram).
Rob sent that photo to everyone. He loves feeling just a bit special. 🙂
Hi Maureen, you are the sweetest daughter in-law, so nice of you to bring treats for Rob. Great looking dip!!!
What a fantastic recipe. I’m always on the lookout for new dip recipes and this one sounds divine. I can’t wait to try it. xx
The caramelized onion part sounds fantastic! And the eggplant is a great twist.
I love me some dips! This one looks fabulous. Thats so sweet he didn’t want to let his buds down on fathers day! What a good guy. 😉
Oh that’s so funny Maureen, I just shared some eggplant recipes on my blog a couple of days ago. We’ll be celebrating National Eggplant Day here in the states on the 25th of September. I love the way you just “threw” this delicious looking dip together. I do have Tahini in the cupboard but now I am so intrigued by your recipe I amy just give it a try. The eggplant is roasted and pureed just waiting…
How wonderful to be able to celebrate Father’s Day with Rob. It was Grandparents’ Day here and I made sure it was nice and lively for Marion too. I should have made her something special though:) Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Maureen and for this recipe. I’ll add this link to my eggplant post for “safe keeping.”
Oh my goodness this flavor combo is great and screaming at me to make it!
This might not be a traditional baba ganoush for dipurists, but it looks fab 🙂 (and it’s hard for mashed eggplant to look photogenic!) Keen to try 🙂
Looks pretty good and not eggplant to me. So, definitely, kids would love to try this dip without knowing!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
My eggplant purchasing tends to go “ooh, eggplant”; “I’ll definitely make something great with this – I’ll buy two”; put eggplant in fridge and forget about it until nearly past using.
So…your dip is extra impressive 🙂
Rob sounds wonderful and what a nice place to give them all coffee and cake out! At a café! And for you for bringing him dip which sounds fabulous with the caramelized onions! What doesn’t taste better with caramelized onions? I must try this!
Mmmmmm caramelized onions. Maureen, this is even better than ‘traditional’ baba ghanoush. I don’t think an eggplant could have a better career!
love this dip! would totally be a crowd pleaser!
Sounds delicious, Maureen. I love caramelised onion hummus, so I guess this will as nice. Best things are invented by accident.
I often find myself without tahini – thanks so much for this substitution tip, Maureen! I would never have thought of using Greek yogurt! This dip does sound fantastic!
I love baba ganoush! And what a wonderful rendition! Gaining weight at that age must mean that he’s happy! Right?
This dip worked perfectly! So healthy with the yogurt. That made me smile when your father-in-law let you know he had a social schedule to follow. So sweet!
i can’t wait to try this. I make something similar but i love the little additions you added that I haven’t before. LOVE
Not sure if you got my last comment. But i love this dip! Can;t wait to try it for next football game
One of my absolute favorites, that recipe ROCKS!! I have never made it before!!
oh yum yum I adore eggplant. it is so tactile- i always want to hug it and stroke it…this sounds delish. and how lovely to hear dad in law is still active. fab.
Great invention indeed Maureen! It certainly sounds delicious. I’m glad you could visit with Rob, and I’m glad he could hang out with his buddies too 🙂 x
Enjoyed reading your post. The caramelized onions are a nice twist to the eggplant dip.
You saved the day. Quick thinking is the mother of invention. It looks delicious and i am glad rRob met uo with his friends….
healthy and definitely hearthy recipe my friend!!!
what a really nice photograph of dip….
Tahini or not this dip looks luscious!! Caramelized onions sound like a great addition! Yum!
I love eggplant. Your dip sounds so good and healthy.
Love your caramelized onion idea I prefer it to tahini. You are such a good and thoughtful daughter-in-law.
Oh I don’t know. Sometimes I go because I don’t want to feel guilty. 🙂
I love eggplant and I don’t find any eggplant dish that I dislike. In fact, I haven’t tried making any dips with eggplant. This makes me very curious to try… I think I had tried in restaurants but I am surprised to find now that this looks very easy to make at home! Need lots of chips for this!
Oh la la indeed. I love eggplant and I bet the onion was such a good foil. Who needs tahini? Another way to prepare the eggplant is to cut it in two down the middle, score the flesh, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and place a whole clove of garlic on one side. Then put it back together, wrap in tin foil to hold it together and then in a hot oven for 40 minutes. You can put fresh herbs inside if you wish too, depending on what you are making. Got the idea from a Gordon Ramsay show, and it’s delicious.
Some lebanese bread on the side, and I will not move off the couch for the whole day if this dip was with me 😀
It looks absolutely fantastic!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Dear Maureen, This is my kind of dip! Sounds delicious. Blessings, Catherine xo
Hello Maureen!
Your Eggplant And Caramelized Onion Dip sounds amazing. I love caramelized onions, and in a dip, yummy yummy.
Yes please I will happily dip away with a bowl of this in front of me 😀