Ravenous for Baba Ganush

A couple days ago, I was hungry. Not like, "Hm, I could definitely eat a few bites right now," but more like the type of hungry one feels growing in the depths of her stomach for several noticeable hours. For me, this is the best type of hungry, because these are the times I'm most inspired to cook. What's more, when I'm this hungry, I know it will be worth the wait to eat a a real meal, rather than grazing on snacks. And thus, the idea of making baba ganush was born. It's funny to think a dish with a name as foreign-sounding as "baba ganush" has become almost commonplace in America. There I was, wallowing in the depths of hunger, and the only thought I had in my mind was, "I'd really like to eat a Middle Eastern eggplant spread whose Arabic name translates to something like "father of the pestle." Well, actually, my thought process was  more like "I need to eat eggplant now," and baba ganush was the next logical step.

If you have an hour to spare and a few key ingredients on hand, baba ganush is the prefect dip or spread to add to any casual meal, and tasty enough to quell even an insatiable appetite. And if you're hungry enough, you might end up adding it to a wrap as delicious as this one turned out to be.

Baba Ganush

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound) 1 glove garlic 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish 2 tablespoons tahini 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut eggplant in half and place skin side up in a baking dish. Add a little water to the bottom of the dish to prevent sticking. Prick eggplant with a fork. Bake the eggplant until it is soft inside, about 20 minutes. Let the eggplant cool. Drain off the liquid, and scoop the pulp into a food processor or blender.  Add garlic, salt, parsley, tahini and lemon juice, and process until smooth. Satiate thyself.