Baba Ghanoush

Baba ghanoush is a Middle Eastern dip. It goes well with pre-dinner drinks, as part of an antipasto platter, or as a side dish with other Middle Eastern fare. It's nice served with toasted pita wedges, particularly if you brush these with a little olive oil and sprinkle them with sumac.

Sumac is made from the ground berries of a shrub which grows wild in the Middle East. The spice is a deep red colour and it has a slightly acidic peppery flavour. If you mix sumac, powdered thyme, salt and sesame seeds together you will have made a mixture called zatar which is also good sprinkled on the pita wedges. Or you can dip warm pita pieces into olive oil and then into the spice mix.

Eggplants for baba ghanoush are best if you can grill them on a barbecue which imparts a nice smoky flavour. But in the absence of that, prick them in several places and bake them in the oven at 180c for 45 minutes to an hour depending on how large they are.

Tahini is available by the jar and is made of ground sesame seeds. You will probably need to stir the tahini in the jar before measuring out as the oil tends to separate out of it and sit on the top. Tahini also features in hummus - a dip made of chickpeas or garbanzo beans

Baba ghanoush

2 large eggplants weighing about 500g each
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons tahini
the juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Bake or barbecue the eggplants until soft and let them stand for a few minutes until cook enough to handle. Remove the stalk end and the skin.

Process in a blender briefly, or mash in a bowl with a fork. Add the garlic, tahini and lemon juice and mix well, seasoning with the salt and pepper. Garnish with the parsley.

Serve at room temperature.