Baba Ganoush
One of the hardest parts about this Whole 30 Challenge are the snack options. If I were following the book to the letter, I wouldn't be snacking much at all. But that's just now how I function. I need a few snacks to get me through the day.
Typically I would reach for some Greek yogurt, string cheese, or carrots and hummus for a healthy snack option. Unfortunately all of those are strictly forbidden on the Whole 30. Instead I have been turning to almonds and apples with almond butter as my snack, but honestly that is getting SO old. I needed to spice it up a bit.
Enter, baba ganoush! "What the F&#$ is baba ganoush?" you ask? Well, I had no idea what it was until a couple years ago. After my first taste I was totally hooked! It is a roasted eggplant dip that is creamy and savory like hummus, but has this added sweetness since it is made from eggplant.
If you are like me, eggplant totally intimidates you. Every time I try to cook with it, the eggplant ends up rubbery and tasteless. But baba ganoush is very different because you don't have to do much with the eggplant. All you have to do is roast it either on the grill or under the broiler until it is totally shriveled and soft. I was trying to save a bit of time, so I sliced my eggplant then roasted it, and it worked just fine. You are just aiming to get the eggplant to be totally soft and caramelized
Once the eggplant is roasted, the rest is as simple as tossing all the ingredients into a food processor and processing until nice and smooth. Easy enough, right?!
Baba ganoush has been a wonderful change of pace to my apples and almond butter. Now I can add veggies and baba ganoush to my list of allowable snack options! Trust me, I will take all that I can get!
Recipe
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 30 min Total Time: 45 min
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 cloves of garlic (optional: roast garlic with eggplant)
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice eggplant about 1/8"-1/4". Place in one layer on a paper towel or along the bottom of the collander. Sprinkle with salt and let sit to extract some of the moisture. About 10-15 minutes. Pat try with a paper towel.
- Turn on the broiler of the oven. Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil. Place under the broiler for about 10 minutes, or until evenly browned. Flip and roast the other side for 5-10 minutes until brown, as well.
- Remove eggplant from the oven and place in a food processor. (Optional: remove the skins before processing.) Add in remaining ingredients and process until smooth.
- Serve in a bowl or on a platter with vegetables.