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Garlicky (and very easy!) roasted aubergine dip

by Jeanne Horak on May 30, 2008 22 Comments in Gluten-free, Heart of the Matter, Vegetarian

Garlicky-roasted-aubergine-dip

There are few things that please me more than making something that sounds tricky, but actually isn’t.  A nice example of this is roasted bell peppers.  You read the instructions about “char them till the skin blackens, then pop them in a Ziploc plastic bag to cool and the skin will come away easily”.

You catch yourself thinking yeah, right.  Has this person actually tried pulling the skin off a bell pepper?  Shucking an oyster springs to mind, in other words, trying to persuade something to do the one thing it really does not want to do.  And this is very much the same train of thought that I follow when I read recipes for aubergine dips where you are told just to roast the aubergine and then the skin will practically fall off by itself.  Hmmm.  We’re talking aubergines here, not clementines! 

But then one day you find yourself with one aubergine in your fridge, still good but no longer in the first blush of youth.  It had been bought a week earlier at the Queen’s Market – and please allow me to digress here for a minute to share a mystery with you.  Queen’s Market is a Newham treasure.  Yes, it’s a little shabby and neither the stalls, merchandise nor shoppers are as chi-chi as Borough Market.  But you can buy an excellent selection of fresh vegetables at rock-bottom prices, including a fantastic selection of Asian and Oriental vegetables.  The back end of the market feels so exotic, you’d never guess you were still on English soil!

A couple of years ago, plans were announced to sell off the site to a developer who planned to demolish the quirky shops around the perimeter of the market (selling all manner of Caribbean and Asian products) and build apartments and a supermarket. Of course the stallholders could still trade… but how is a produce market going to survive in the forecourt of a national supermarket chain?  And so the traders and locals mobilised and in 2006, the planned supermarket tenant (ASDA) pulled out.  Hurrah!  Battle won!  Only… the developer has still not pulled out of the plan and no doubt if another supermarket were to step into the breach,  plans would proceed apace.  You’d think this is the sort of place where anything to do with a supermarket chain would be unwelcome.  So then can somebody please explain to me: a) why Tesco appears to be sponsoring the carrier bags (most of the stalls had a wad of virgin Tesco bags in which they packed the produce after sale); and b) why I discovered Tesco stickers on all the beef tomatoes we boughtthem?!  Answers on the back of a postcard, please…

But I digress.  So there I was with a lonely aubergine (its partner already having made a delicious ratatouille-style dish earlier in the week) in my fridge and guests expected for a lunchtime BBQ.  Using the aubergine would serve the dual purpose of creating some pre-lunch snacks and clearing enough space in the fridge for another bottle of wine – bonus.  So I decided to try out the crazy idea of roasting an aubergine, and whaddaya know – it’s just as easy as the description woud have you believe.  Once the aubergine is cooked, the flesh pretty much peels away from the flesh like a roasted pepper, and after that, the recipe is easy enough for a child to make.  One taste of this and believe me, you won’t give prepackaged dips another glance!

GARLICKY ROASTED AUBERGINE DIP

Ingredients

1 large aubergine
2 or 3 shallots, depending on size
1 or 2 large cloves of garlic
a handful of flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2-3 Tbsp plain yoghurt
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Method20080524 AubergineDip2B

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.  Cut the aubergine in half lengthways, brush the cut sides with olive oil and place skin-side down on a baking sheet.  Roast for about 15 minutes or until the cut flesh starts to turn brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

While the aubergine is cooling, chop up the shallots finely and crush the garlic.  Heat about 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a spall saucepan over medium heat and sautee the onions and garlic together with the paprika.  When the onions are soft (but not browned), remove from the heat.

When the aubergines are cool enough to touch, either scoop the flesh out of the skins with a spoon or peel the skin away from the flesh with your fingers.  Place the aubergine flesh, cooled onion mix and flat-leaf parsley in a food processor and pulse briefly until a chunky paste forms.  Don’t over-process – you want some texture!

Spoon the mixture into a bowl, add the yoghurt and mix well.  Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  I served my dip with toasted slices of baguette, but warm pita bread would also be delicious.

Apart from being super-easy and delicious, this dip is also low fat and healthy for your heart.  In addition, if you make it really garlicky, you get the added heart-healthy antioxidant benefirts of garlic, which is why I’m submitting it to this month’s Heart of the Matter event where the theme is herbs. The host this month is Michelle from The Accidental Scientist – do go and check her site for the roundup on Monday or Tuesday!

More deliciousness for you!

  • Moroccan spiced lamb breast with herb couscousMoroccan spiced lamb breast with herb couscous
  • Whole leg of lamb on the braai/BBQWhole leg of lamb on the braai/BBQ
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  1. Elizabeth says

    June 2, 2008 at 2:01 pm

    Yay!! I was rather distressed not to be able to figure out how to comment on this when I first saw it. I adore aubergines. (“Aubergine” is a much more attractive word for this vegetable than “eggplant”, isn’t it?)
    I think we might even have some pitas lurking in the freezer – I could cut them in triangles for scooping up the dip. Do you always use a regular largish dark purple aubergine or have you also tried this with those thin Asian kind that don’t have to be peeled?

    Reply
  2. Nilmandra says

    June 4, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    I love aubergines and garlic so this one is going into the recipes folder. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Susan from Food Blogga says

    June 10, 2008 at 2:51 pm

    I love roasted aubergine dip. I make one with tahini that is addictive. Thanks for the delicious reminder!

    Reply
  4. Pille says

    June 10, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    Oh, Jeanne, this sounds all so wonderful!! I’m printing out the recipe just now!!

    Reply
  5. Michelle says

    June 13, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Aubergine may not me the most photogenic food on the planet, but dayummm, nothing beats the taste. I can’t wait to try out the dip. Great photography!

    Reply
  6. SeductionMeals says

    June 24, 2008 at 2:12 am

    I love roasted aubergines, and this dip sounds wonderful and so easy to prepare.

    Reply
  7. Sidi says

    August 5, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Try roasting the aubergine on the BBQ. It will have a different taste than roasted in the oven.

    Reply
  8. Lesley says

    November 4, 2008 at 11:51 am

    I’m an Aubergine fan and look forward to trying this. Have also had the same probs with skinning peppers! The plastic bag idea is supposed to work because it steams off the skins, I always end up grilling them, haven’t tried roasting though.

    Reply
  9. Mark T Jones says

    December 19, 2008 at 12:59 pm

    Queen’s Market is a revelation, wonderful to see it featuring as one of the three finalists in the ‘Best Food Market’ category in the BBC Radio Four Food & Farming Awards 2008.

    Reply
  10. vinita thaoa says

    November 25, 2009 at 4:51 am

    hi… I guess am writing this to you quite late… I once had the same dip with walnuts, do you think I can just add the same on to this recipe? Am not sure how curd will taste with the walnuts?

    Reply
  11. Caro says

    March 29, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    Definitely going to do this as my aubergine crop this year is too much to eat in one go. My question is, can I freeze it? many thanks

    Reply
  12. Mark says

    August 12, 2010 at 12:23 pm

    Made this dip for a family buffet last weekend. It went down a storm. http://buttazblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/family-buffet.html
    Thanks very much for the great recipe.
    Mark

    Reply
  13. Eleanor says

    September 5, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    Thanks, that was great. Much easier than using a grill or gas hob. I didn’t even take the skin off and it was absolutely lovely 🙂

    Reply
  14. Jacqueline says

    September 14, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Its really delicious great for a party I tried it
    Thanks

    Reply
  15. Rubi Kaur says

    August 30, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    Wonderful post! We are linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the great writing.

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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