BBQ Melitzanosalata or Eggplant Dip
Braving the eggplant!
Introducing….Eggplant
If you have been avoiding eggplant because you don’t know what to do with it, then maybe this eggplant dip, or Melitzanosalata recipe, or Baba Ganoush can convince you it is worth another look. It certainly helped me appreciate it more! I didn’t grow up knowing anything about eggplants, aubergines, brinjal or guinea squash (the other names it is known by). They have been a bit of a mystery to me. Therefore, I wrote an Eggplant blog post.
Over the past few years since living in the Adelaide Hills and visiting the local farmer’s markets, I have taken to including them in my meals. I am still working out the best ways to use them, but recently I attended a course in a teaching kitchen with a bonafide chef (so excited! – a highly distinguished chef – but not the nasty kind, Chef Kasper Christensen) and learnt how to make this delicious dip.
I have to say I was a bit shocked when I saw Chef Kasper put them onto the open flame of a gas stove! It was a new cooking method I hadn’t seen before. I have now done it at home and used my BBQ and my gas cooktop. I decided I prefer the BBQ as it can be a bit messy on my cooktop. I’m definitely a “the less cleaning up, the better” person!
One of my key learnings from making this recipe is to make sure the eggplants are fully cooked through! If they aren’t the flavour will not be very nice and you will have wasted some good eggplant and your precious time. The eggplant needs to cook for long enough for the flesh to become very squishy before you remove it from the flames. I was also surprised at how long this took to cook. It’s certainly not a really long time, but it was longer than I anticipated. I remember watching the chef working on other things while the eggplant was “burning” away on its open flame, and thinking “don’t forget about the eggplant!”. I needn’t have worried. He had done this many times before and the result was amazing!
So go ahead and burn your eggplants, make them nice and squishy, and enjoy the unique flavour they produce using this method.
Cooking eggplant over an open flame gives a lovely smokey flavour.
What to serve it with:
Why not try my Warm Pumpkin & Mediterranean Salad? Replace the hummus with this Melitzanosalata dip instead.
What about a dollop on the top of Mediterranean Freekah Pilaf? You could use this Eggplant dip instead of the yoghurt or a combination of them mixed together.
I will be posting a recipe soon that is perfect for eggplant dip, but in the meantime try this one: Kefta from My Moroccan Food. Add a Greek style salad and some flat bread (also coming soon!).
BBQ Melitzanosalata (Eggplant Dip)
If you've been avoiding eggplant because you don't know what to do with it, this smoky BBQ-grilled dip is the perfect place to start. Eggplant and garlic are charred on the barbecue until soft, then blended with lemon juice and olive oil into a simple, vegan Mediterranean-style dip.
Ingredients
Method
- 1
Wash the eggplants and pierce the skin all over (about 8 times) with a fork.
- 2
Wrap the unpeeled garlic cloves together in foil.
- 3
Cook the eggplants over an open BBQ grill for up to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until the skin is blackened and the flesh is very soft.
- 4
Place the foil-wrapped garlic on a cooler part of the BBQ, turning it alongside the eggplants.
- 5
Remove from the heat and let the eggplant and garlic cool until safe to handle.
- 6
Scoop the eggplant flesh into a blender, squeeze in the softened garlic, then add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, or leave it a little chunky if you prefer.
Nutrition (per serving)
Estimated from the FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database. Actual values will vary depending on the specific products used — not a substitute for individual dietary advice.
