Homemade Tahini and Baba Ghanoush

Homemade versions of store-bought products always taste so much better to me, such as hummus and guacamole. Using fresh ingredients gives them pizazz.

Baba Ganoush is a famous Middle Eastern dip made with eggplant. It’s something I had wanted to make for a while. I had a large eggplant and was ready to go.

Make your own tahini, too

One key ingredient in Baba Ganoush is sesame tahini. You shouldn’t be dismayed at having no tahini. You can actually make your own by roasting sesame seeds, adding olive oil, and then grinding them — so simple.

So I also made my own tahini, which will keep  in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Tahini can also form the base for hummus — in fact, a couple of days later, I made some hummus that was quite delicious.

Americans don’t use the eggplant enough in their cooking. It’s a wonderful vegetable that is so healthy — a good source of fiber, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamin C. And when you roast it, it has a rich, smokey flavor.

Get your kids cooking

Baba Ganoush is a fun recipe to make with kids. They can lay out the sesame seeds on the roasting tray, wash the vegetables, and so on.

Baba Ganoush can be eaten with almost anything — stalks of celery, carrot sticks, pita bread — the list is endless. Leave a comment and let me know what you like it with.

You can also tailor-make it to your family’s or child’s taste by using more or less garlic, lemon, or tahini.

It’s vital to get your little ones in the kitchen and expose them to wonderful dishes from around the world. It develops their palates and healthy eating skills for life.

Ingredients for Tahini

• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions for Tahini

1. Preheat your oven or countertop oven to 300°F.
2. Roast the sesame seeds in hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes, being careful not to burn them.
3. Allow them to cool and then add the olive oil and grind in a blender or food processor.

Ingredients for Baba Ganoush

• one large eggplant
• ½ cup fresh parsley or one tablespoon dried parsley
• one teaspoon cumin powder
• salt to taste
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• lemon juice
• tahini

Instructions for Baba Ganoush

1. Preheat your oven or countertop oven to 400°F.
2. Slice the eggplant and roast for 25-30 minutes until it gets soft, then allow it to cool.
3. Using a blender or food processor, grind the eggplant with the garlic, lemon juice, parsley, cumin, salt, olive oil, and tahini.