Baba Ghanouj

This recipe comes from The Door to Arabic Cooking, a little spiral-bound book published by my grandmother-in-law's church, St. George Orthodox Church, of Boston, MA. My husband's father's family is Lebanese-Armenian, and these are his "comfort food" recipes. I have to give the cookbook back to my mother-in-law, so I'm saving them here.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Yields: 3-4 cups

Ingredients

• 1  medium eggplant
• 3  tablespoons tahini
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  garlic clove, crushed
• 2  tablespoons lemon juice
•  toasted pine nuts (optional)
•  pomegranate seeds (optional)

Directions

1. If you have a gas stove, use tongs to hold the eggplant over a medium flame until the skin chars.
2. Poke holes in the skin with a fork and bake on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, until cooked through. If you have a grill, skip step one and grill the eggplant over indirect heat instead of baking.
3. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and put the pulp into a bowl or food processor.
4. Add the tahini, salt, garlic and lemon juice and mash it together with a fork or process until it reaches your desired consistency.
5. Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with pine nuts and/or pomegranate seeds.