Spaghetti Baba Ganoush
Baba Ganoush is one of my favourite dips. The smoky, silky flavours, the zingy lemon, the sharp garlic! Ahhhh. SO good! So, it seemed only sensible to turn it into a spaghetti dinner! Now, with proper baba ganoush you cook the eggplant over an open flame, leaving it with this amazing smoky flavour. I’ve done a bit of a cheat this time, just grilling the eggplant and adding a little smoky paprika instead. It’s definitely a lot easier and, happily, this method doesn’t set off my smoke alarms (in a fit of fire-related anxiety a few years ago I installed three separate smoke alarms in our house, all of which occasionally go off simultaneously in a shocking and awful - but safety conscious - cacophony).
Anyway, this was one of my favourite pasta dishes I’ve made in a while (which is saying something because I eat pasta on an almost daily basis). The tahini gives it a lovely depth of flavour and a real creaminess, almost like a vegan carbonara! If you find your tahini sauce is a little thick, I recommend thinning it with a little of the salty water you’ve cooked your pasta in. Once it’s at drizzle-level consistency, pour it over your cooked pasta, toss it gently so each strand of linguine is gloriously coated in tahini-deliciousness, top with the grilled veggies and eat!
Spaghetti Baba Ganoush
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
1 eggplant, cut into thirds lengthways
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp grape seed oil
3 serves of linguini
2 Tbsp grape seed oil
2 Tbsp butter
8 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 cup of tahini paste
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp smoky paprika
1/2 tsp salt
Some fresh parsley (to garnish)
Sharp parmesan cheese or pecorino (as a topping, if desired)
Method
Place the eggplant and cherry tomatoes on an oven tray and drizzle with 2 Tbsp grape seed oil. Sprinkle with a few good pinches of salt, then place under the grill and cook for 30-40 minutes, turning halfway through, until the eggplant is very soft and the cherry tomatoes are bursting. Cut the eggplant into chunky pieces.
Cook the linguine according the the instructions on the packet.
While the linguine cooks, make the tahini sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. add the garlic and fry for a minute. Add the tahini paste, lemon juice, paprika and salt. Stir until a smooth sauce forms.
Toss the cooked linguine in the tahini sauce, then top with the cherry tomatoes and eggplant, parsley, and some parmesan cheese and fresh chilli if desired.