Badenjan: Smoky Eggplant Dip Recipe
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 3:29pm

Ingredients




3 cups small eggplants to make about 1 ¼  when roasted, pulped and sieved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 fat cloves garlic, minced or grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, to garnish
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted, to garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil, to garnish

Preparation

1 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 2 Prick the eggplants with a fork and put them on a baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft to the touch (alternatively, you can grill on a barbecue until soft). Allow to cool before peeling and mashing them, then leave the pulp in a sieve to drain. 3 Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until golden and then add the drained eggplant mush, cooking it with the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes over a gentle heat, stirring frequently. Take off the heat and turn into a bowl to cool and season with salt and pepper. 4 Add the yogurt to the cooled eggplant mixture together with the saffron in the now golden water, stirring together well. Turn into a bowl and sprinkle over the mint, toasted pine nuts, and a dribble of oil.

About


If you like baba ganoush, you'll love badenjan! Badenjan is a creamy, smoky Arabic eggplant dip that has deep notes of saffron balanced by fresh mint. This dip is excellent served as an appetizer with pita chips and fresh vegetables or as a main dish served with lamb meatballs. This recipe is from Nigella Lawson.