Deconstructed Baba Ghanouj Platter
I love a delicious, healthy dish that can be served as a gorgeous party platter or quick family side dish with very minimal work.
Honestly, any mom that enjoys hosting people will tell you that while sometimes, complicated, overly sophisticated meals that flex your cooking know-how are super fun to make and serve, a lot of the times, easy, gorgeous and healthy is where it’s at. That’s exactly why i make this insanely gorgeous and simple deconstructed baba ghanouj platter time and time again. It’s simply so impressive and tastes like the most delicious and decadent baba ghanouj ever. It’s a win, win, win in my book.
Growing up, my mom was pretty adamant about keeping traditional dishes, well, traditional. She found it blasphemous to switch it around and make it your own. What our ancestors created should remain. And while you wont find me disagreeing about the importance of using food to tell the stories of culture, i’m all for a little switch up as long as you make a nod to its origins.
So here it goes, the most gorgeous, easy and delicious Deconstructed Baba Ghanouj Platter (with a huge nod of approval from my mama who loves this dish and makes it often herself.)
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Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4-5 servings
Ingredients
2 large globe eggplants
cooking spray, i prefer avocado oil spray
1/2 cup tahini paste
6 tbsp cold water (or more depending on desired consistency)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 & 1/2 lemons
Salt to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley or dill (choose your favorite)
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
Method
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2) Slice eggplants into 1 inch rounds and salt them generously
3) Lay the eggplants on a parchment lined baking sheet (you may need two baking sheets as you do not want any eggplants to overlap)
4) Using your cooking spray, coat all eggplant slices on each side with cooking spray and place in the oven to roast for 30 min or until each side is golden and the eggplant is fork tender. You will need to flip the eggplants once, midway through.
5) While the eggplants are roasting, prepare the tahini drizzle by combining the tahini paste, crushed garlic, the juice of the lemons, water and salt in a small bowl. Combine all and whisk together until the thick paste turns into a thinner sauce. The consistency of the sauce is dependent on your taste. If you prefer a runnier sauce, add a touch more water. For a thicker sauce, reduce the water by 1 tbsp.
6) Remove the eggplants from the oven once golden and tender. Lay the eggplant slices on the platter you will be serving them on, and drizzle the tahini dressing overtop. Finish the dish with a generous sprinkling of your herb of choice and the pomegranate seeds.
