Quite a few Mediterranean countries, cultures and cuisines make their claims (often passionately) on the eggplant-tahini dip called baba ganoush, though in the United States it seems to be considered mostly Lebanese. It is, however, also a national dish of countries as diverse as Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Armenia, Palestine, Turkey and Egypt. Like hummus and, to some extent, falafel, baba ganoush history is a bit of battlefield. Everyone merely agrees that they want to eat some right now.
At some level, baba ganoush (or ghanoush or ganouj, since it’s transliterated from Arabic) is closest to the globally popular hummus. Both are made by crushing, mashing or pureeing something, combining it with the sesame paste called tahini and zipping it up with fresh lemon juice. Most compellingly, though, baba ganoush is one of a large table filled with delicious chopped and pulverized things that can serve as a “dip” for pita. The scene is clearly “Middle Eastern,” though who came up with what recipe first – or even who grew this or that first in the garden – is an impossible dispute.
Baba ganoush is an unlikely sounding name, never to be confused with the French-named boozy cake baba au rhum. The name means something akin to “pampered daddy,” we are told – presumably a reference to some sultan or other. Or as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, the name was “perhaps with reference to its supposed invention by a member of a royal harem.” It seems to have taken on its final (exportable) form in what used to be called The Levant, a geographic and cultural designation that combined at least parts of Turkey with Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean.
To us, baba ganoush exemplifies the impact on European culture of “Orientalism,” an artistic and even lifestyle craze that grabbed hold of the Continent in the mid-to-late 1800s, with Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), Beirut and, to a lesser extent, Damascus as its half-fantasy capitals. When freedom and specifically money allowed, Europeans of a certain exotic bent took off for new lives in those cities, feeling liberated from the conservative sexual and other mores that held them prisoner back home. For many, French writer Pierre Loti was the poster child. His memory, his fez-topped image and his historical markers still haunt Istanbul. He was, by all accounts, both Levantine and libertine – a potent combination.
With obvious nods to their own personal roots, some scholars believe baba ganoush was created in the Levant and spread from there along both spice and religious pilgrimage routes as far as Iraq and today’s Saudi Arabia. Other scholars map out the exact same baba ganoush trail – except they picture the spread working in the opposite direction. Undeniably, the dish’s prominence in Lebanese cooking, with a polyglot seaport like Beirut, explains its modern popularity worldwide.
BABA GANOUSH
Looking at various versions from various Middle Eastern countries, one obvious difference comes in the form of spices – which naturally produce different flavor profiles. Some recipes lean heavily on cumin, coriander and other Arab or Mediterranean spices. Other versions are more main ingredient-centric, allowing the eggplant to be front and center. Both ways, of course, can make a wonderful dip for pita.
2 small eggplants
½ cup prepared tahini
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (plus additional if desired)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
Paprika
Chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or preheat an outdoor grill). Roast the eggplant until tender to the touch and dark on the outside, 45-55 minutes. Grills add more of a smoky flavor, if desired. Once the eggplant has cooled, peel and discard the skin. Cut up the flesh and place in a food processor or blender. Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, garnish with additional olive oil, paprika and parsley.
Serves about 8 with slices of pita.
