Luxurious Eggplant Dip
This Luxurious Eggplant Dip is exactly what you need for all those family and friends reunions that are coming in the next few weeks.
It has a beautiful creamy texture, a mix of sweet and savory flavour that is so satisfying. Serve it with vegetables or some seed crackers and it will be the protagonist of your party table. If you prefer a deeper smoky flavour you could chard grill the eggplant instead of roast it in the oven.
Eggplant, or aubergine, although it’s considered a vegetable, it is actually a fruit as they grow from a flowering plant. Eggplants are a nutrient dense food, it’s high in fiber, manganese, folate and potassium. Rich in antioxidants, they help you to protect your body from free radicals (harmful substances). Because it’s rich in fiber can lower blood sugar preventing spikes and crashes.
The best is that eggplants are very versatil and super easy to add to your diet. Baked, roasted, grilled, sauteed, in stews, in lasagne, simply with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar or as a dip like in today’s recipe.
So many ways to cook it and enjoy it!
- 1 medium-large eggplant
- 1 handful walnut halves toasted
- 40 gr tahini
- 60 gr ricotta cheese or vegan yogurt
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic opcional
- few leaves fresh mint
- sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
- chopped walnuts
- vegetables
- finely chopped mint
- olives
- Extra virgin olive oil
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Preheat the oven to 200ºC and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place both halves face down on the baking sheet. Bake eggplant until quite soft, about 40 minutes. Remove eggplant and let cool slightly.
In a food processor, pulse the walnuts until they are finely ground. Add the tahini, ricotta or vegan yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, garlic, mint, salt, and pepper. Scoop the soft flesh out of the eggplant and transfer it to the food processor as well. Pulse until smooth dip, scraping the sides down if necessary. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Serve the eggplant dip at room temperature with extra chopped walnuts, chopped fresh mint, a drizzle of olive oil, cut vegetables, seed crackers and olives.