baba ghanouj, aka roasted eggplant dip 
vegan + gluten-free

Why is there no photo of the finished product? 

According to my children, it looks like lumpy cement. They exaggerate, but it definitely does not photography well like salsa or fresh guacamole, or even innocuous-looking like hummus. However, it cleans up well when you add a little garnish (think fresh parsley and sliced tomatoes).

The kids are unanimous in that it tastes really good, and they'll even eat it with pita chips as an afternoon snack.

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1 Italian eggplant or a couple of Japanese or Chines eggplants
3 cloves of garlic, mashed to a pulp
About 1t Hawaiian salt, to taste
1/2t black pepper
1/4t coriander
1/4t cumin

Juice of a lemon
4T tahini
3-4T olive oil

Garnish (necessary only for aesthetic purposes)
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Fresh diced tomatoes

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Poke holes in the eggplant and roast in the oven at 350 for at least 1 1/2 hours (you can also do this in the grill for a smokier flavor). The eggplant should be almost to the point of collapsing.

Cool, peel skin and mash with a fork, or a potato masher.

In a separate bowl, mix together all the other stuff. You can either use the food processor, or just mix well with a whisk. To get garlic pulp, put garlic in a plastic bag and literally pound to a pulp. It's very therapeutic.

This mixture should be about the texture of very runny cream of wheat. Mix it into the eggplant mash, adding more salt and/or lemon juice to taste. 

Dress it up with parsley or fresh tomatoes and eat with pita, crackers, chicken, even fish.

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