8 servings

Hands on: 10 minutes

Becky Stein/Special (ENLARGE)
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Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

You can mash the ingredients by hand if you like, but the dip comes together very quickly in the blender. Serve the dip with wedges of pita bread or with raw vegetables.

Cook's note: Tahini, a paste made of sesame seeds, is available in most grocery stores.

1 fancy eggplant (slightly over 1 pound)

4 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

3 tablespoons tahini (see note above)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the eggplant a few times with a knife, place it in a shallow baking dish and roast it until it softens, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven, cool it about 10 minutes at room temperature, and then chill it in the refrigerator until it is cool enough to handle (about 20 minutes).

In a blender, puree the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini and blend. Cut the stem top off the eggplant, peel it and drop it in the blender, along with any juices that collected in the baking dish. Add the salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Puree. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the baba ghanouj to a serving dish and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Per serving: 81 calories (percent of calories from fat, 67), 2 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 275 milligrams sodium.