Vita-Mix Baba Ghanoush

I padded a few Christmas orders from Amazon with more vegan cookbooks from my wishlist. One of them was Vegan Deli by Joanne Stepaniak. She's my absolute favorite cookbook author and I'm pretty sure that this is going to be one of my new favorite books. This baba ghanoush is the first recipe that I've had the chance to try. I've had really good baba ghanoush and really bad baba ghanoush--this one is on the far former end of the spectrum. Of course, the recipe doesn't call for a Vita-Mix, but the texture is perfect when blended. As I've said, nothing beats Ali Baba, but this is very tasty. I did add a lot of extra garlic and lemon juice, though. The eggplant roasting instructions are from another new book that I love, Vegan on a Shoestring. More about that one later.

Vegan Deli-based
Extra Garlicky
Vita-Mix Baba Ghanoush
1 large eggplant
6 T tahini
juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic
pinch of salt

Cut eggplant in half and slice diagonally across the flesh several times. Scoop out any large clusters of seeds. Coat the back of a spoon with oil and rub over exposed flesh. Sprinkle with salt. Roast at 375F for 30-45 minutes.

When eggplant is cool enough to handle, scoop out the the flesh and blend with garlic until smooth. Add tahini, lemon juice and salt. Blend again. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.