Hummus was so 2010. Get ahead of the trend and make baba ganoush. Baba ganoush is a smokey eggplant dip from the Mediterranean. When I went to Israel, it was served during all three meals. Yes, Israeli breakfast was a total cultural shock. Most baba ganoush recipes use tahini aka sesame paste. My mom introduced me to the mayonnaise version. I think the mayonnaise makes it much better. Bring some baba ganoush to a gathering and be the star. I modified this recipe: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/recipe/eggplant-with-mayonnaise/

Ingredients

• 4 large eggplants
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (I used low fat mayonnaise made with olive oil)
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of parsley
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoons of cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons of paprika
• 6-10 cloves of pealed garlic (depending on how much you love garlic, I go for the max)

1. Preheat your BBQ or oven broiler. Pierce the eggplants with a fork in several places so they don’t explode when they cook.
2. Place the eggplant on the bbq or in the oven. Once it is charred on one side, rotate the eggplants by 90 degrees.  You should cook the eggplant on all four sides.
   

   

   Do not rush this process. The eggplants are considered finished when they “deflate”.

3. Immediately put the eggplant in a large bowl and seal the bowl with plastic wrap. This is a trick my coworker JS (SHOUT OUT TO JS!!!!) taught me. It makes pealing the skin off the eggplant a lot easier. Wait 30 minutes.
4. While the eggplant is cooling, put the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cumin, and paprika in a food processor.  Process until the the mixture turns into a paste.
   

   
5. Add the mayonnaise and blend some more.
   

   

   6. After 30 minutes, peel off the eggplant skins and put the flesh in a colander and press out as much of the liquid as possible. The liquid will make your baba ganoush bitter and unpleasant. The right pic shows you how much liquid comes out.

   

   

   7. Add the eggplant flesh and into the food processor with the parsley and blend until smooth.

Serve with veggies, chips or pita. It is also great as a spread on sandwiches.