Smoked Eggplant Dip
If you read my blog at all, you know eggplant enchants me. I can’t explain it. I really wish I could but I just can’t. I try just about as hard as I can to include it somehow in all of my recipes (even my chili last week, which I have to say may have been a little excessive, but a girls gotta experiment). I’m not even sure what made me spontaneously decide to try out the Big Green Egg on my own to make this, usually I pretend to pay attention while someone else gets it all cleaned out and lit for me, but my bold attempt (or at least bold for me) paid off.
The Big Green Egg, or actually any grill in general, has always been intimidating to me for some reason. I don’t know why, maybe because I always associated it with a guys way of cooking so I never tried it out, but it was way easier than I thought. There is something about the flavor you get from smoking…. I literally felt like I was getting drunk on smoke. The oaky aromas rising out of the grill, the intense smell of the sweet eggplant charring over the coals, the beautiful woodsy vapors that literally stained my entire body with the scent of smokey goodness, it was awesome. There is something so primitive, so elemental to grilling, it stimulates the senses in a completely different way than basic stove top methods. Needless to say, I’m now going to become the grilling queen.
I started off by placing the eggplant directly onto the charcoal once it was hot enough, and turned them after about ten minutes.
All in all, they took about 25 minutes, but you really need to just check them depending on your heat, to make sure they are really tender and do not have any sort of spongy constancy anymore on the inside.
Then I basically just peeled them, it comes right off, and placed them in a bowl with all of the other ingredients. So easy right?!! You can serve it however you would like – with pita chips, pita bread, a sandwich, anything really!
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb. baby eggplants or smaller eggplants
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 1 clove roasted garlic (I just roast an entire head and use 1 clove out of it)
- olive oil, a few drizzles
- salt, to taste
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 roma tomato, minced
- 2-3 tbsp. pomegranate seeds, to top
Instructions
- Begin by lighting your charcoal grill. After about 15 minutes, place the eggplants directly on top of the coals. I left my grill top open during the entire time I smoked them. I also placed a head of garlic (top cut off) in tin foil, topped with a little olive oil, closed, and set on the coals during the entire time the eggplants roasted.
- After 10 minutes, turn the eggplants over and smoke 10 minutes on the other side. Test for doneness after this - I slit one open to make sure that none of the inside was white, or spongy, and was cooked all the way through. Depending on how hot your grill is, you may need to add an additional 5 minutes or so. It is very important to just check the eggplants yourself rather than rely on a timer.
- Once they are done roasting, remove them along with the head of garlic and let cool. Peel off the outer layer of charred skin, and place the insides in a medium size bowl. Combine with 1 clove of the roasted garlic, parsley, tomato, salt, lemon juice, and stir very well (I used a potato masher). Add a small drizzle of olive oil, stir again, and taste for seasoning.
- To serve, top with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with pita chips, pita bread, or whatever you desire. Enjoy!
I loooooooooooove eggplants too. I roast them the same way for the Romanian version of this dip (called vinete if you would like to try it, made with home made mayonnaise and lots and lots of garlic) or just bake them in the oven when it should go quicklier and easier. I will try this version for sure and will not forget the anchovies, they look great beside the dip and I actually searched for them in the recipe, I thought they will be in there as well. 🙂
Oh my goodness, I have to try that dip you are talking about! And yes I always love to have anchovies on hand, my boyfriend loves to snack on them while I am cooking 🙂 Your recipe sounds fab!