Combining my two favourite Middle Eastern foods - hummus and moutabal - resulted in this extremely delicious appetizer. I figured since I use almost the same ingredients in both of them I might as well make a 2-in-1 dish and save myself some time. Half way between a spread and a dip, the eggplant hummus is wonderfully creamy with a rich, smoky flavour. I mostly enjoy it with freshly baked, crusty bread, but also like it plain or with crunchy carrot and celery sticks.
The only time-consuming part in making this hummus is the eggplant preparation, but once that's out of the way it only takes a little blending before you can dig in. The recipe makes enough to please a large family or to serve at a gathering. Alternatively, you can store any leftover hummus in an airtight container.
Eggplant Hummus
- 4 medium eggplants
- 1 can (400 g - about 1 1/2 cups) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp salt (I use sea salt or Himalayan)
- 4 Tb freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- pinch of cayenne pepper
Cook the eggplants over an open flame, on a gas or charcoal grill, in the oven or on the hob, whichever way is easier for you. I just place a griddle on the stove top over medium-high heat and cook them until the skin has charred, to keep the flesh white-brown. When done, place the eggplants standing uncovered in a pan. After 20-30 minutes when they're easy to handle, peel the skin off and remove the stems, then place them in a colander until completely cool, turning them around from time to time to help drain the liquid.
Put all the ingredients in a blender, minus the eggplant and spices, and blend until smooth.
Add the eggplant and spices and blend again until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides with a spatula if needed. Of course, you can play around with the spices to suit your taste. In my case, I wanted a clear taste of smoky eggplant with the acidity of lemon juice and just a touch of aromatics.
Serve sprinkled with cayenne pepper and sumac (optional, but it does add a sharp, lemony flavour) and drizzled with olive oil, with crusty bread, pita or tortilla chips. For extra crunch, mix in or decorate with chickpeas.
Enjoy and spread the magic!:)
10 comments:
Thank you!
Loving this recipe. Nice pictures too and very clearly laid out.
Thank you for your kind words, Hueman:) I'm happy you like it. You should give it a try sometime, it's crazy-good;)
Great picture here Adriana! I can very much imagine how tasty this is, and I love eggplant that is cooked/prepared like this. I have made baba ghanoush type dishes before, but don't think I have combined with chickpeas. So I must! Eggplant and chickpeas are two of my favourite foods :) Thank you for another wonderful recipe.
I'm very happy to share it, Andrea:) Chickpeas never fail to amaze me, they're so versatile. After trying a few wonderful hummus versions, this one turned out to be the best. I love eggplant with tahini, and adding chickpeas gives it more depth and consistency, plus that mild nutty flavour that I so much love. I hope you enjoy it:) Thanks so much for the comment:)
Hi Adriana,
I just discovered your blog. It has wonderful recipies. I am familiar with some of them, and I can't wait to try the rest of them. I love your "Romanian touch" to the recipies, since I am a Romanian native too :-). Thanks for sharing.
Alina, I'm very happy that you like the recipes and look forward to your feedback after trying them:) I also have a few Romanian recipes coming up, cozonac is one of the best:) Thank you so much for getting in touch.
Looking forward to the cozonac recipe. Here is my challenge to you :-) If you ever manage to veganize the "amandina" recipe to taste like to one we all know from back home, I will be very interested in it.
LOL I wasn't much into amandina, always thought it was too sweet. I was more of an eclair and savarina fan:) But this would surely be an interesting challenge.
I just got done making this recipe. I used it as a foundation but stayed almost true to it. I love the deep color of the skin and the extra nutrients so I kept them on. I also have a vita mixer so was able to get it extra creamy. I used 2 TBSP of carrot juice for extra liquid. It is delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Michelle, thanks so much for the feedback, so glad you enjoyed the hummus. I'll keep the carrot juice in mind next time I make it, sounds delicious.