Baba Ghanoush, The Raw Food Way!
This is a great time of year for food lovers. The farmer’s markets are brimming with fruit and vegetables, fresh and in season, waiting for us to enjoy. Eggplant, the glossy, deep purple member of the nightshade family is showing up in all of it’s various forms. I have always loved eggplant, especially in Baba Ghanoush (eggplant and garlic dip). I wanted a raw food recipe. Raw eggplant can be bitter and have an unpleasing texture. But if you dice and freeze it, once you thaw it, you can achieve the texture you need and also eliminates some of the bitterness associated with raw eggplant.
Nutritionally, eggplant contains chlorogenic acid which is one of the most potent free radical scavengers found in plants. Benefits attributed to chlorogenic acid include antimutagenic (anti-cancer), antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral activities. It is also very high in fiber.
This recipe is full of raw garlic, which I love and feel is the best thing about it! However, you might want to add it slowly to suit your taste.
Baba Ghanoush
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
- 1 large eggplant, diced, frozen and thawed
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- pinch of salt
- Advanced preparation: Peel, dice and freeze the eggplant. Thaw before you prepare the eggplant. Soak cashews.
- Start food processor and drop garlic, clove by clove into the spinning blade. It will fine dice it and throw it on the wall of the processor. Add the cashews and process until smooth. Add diced eggplant, lemon juice, olive oil and pinch of salt. Process until smooth. Enjoy with your choice of flat breads.
Lindy wrote on October 25, 2009
I am also not very familiar with raw food, so forgive me for sounding ignorant, but what is the purpose for freezing the eggplant. I had experimented with another raw eggplant recipe, which called for marinating the eggplant in lemon juice and oil. The recipe noted that the marinating process removes the toughness of the fruit. When I cooked eggplant, I always sprinkled with salt and drained the excess liquid to remove bitterness. Any thoughts on these methods?
Susan wrote on October 25, 2009
Yes…the whole reason to freeze is to change the texture. And for some reason, it is less bitter. You can marinate, but in this recipe, I didn’t want a marinade flavor introduced. Hence, the freezing. And as you probably know, in raw..we don’t cook.
The Cooking Lady wrote on September 20, 2009
I love traditional Baba Ganoush, but this caught my eye. I did make it last night. It is delicious. I have to admit, I miss the taste of the tahini, but I see no problem with bouncing back and forth between this new recipe and my own.
I am on a journey to add more raw food to our diet, this is just another dish to help us get there!
JodyLynn wrote on September 19, 2009
I just made this and can I just say ….without drooling, that is….this is SOOOOOO good! I used it as a dip, then used it as part of a filling to my lettuce wrap and then just ate it out of the bowl! All gone! Thanks for the tasty recipe! 🙂
Susan wrote on September 19, 2009
Glad you like it! It is a favorite!
Roger Hamre wrote on September 18, 2009
Very profrssional. We’re proud of you Sue.
The Cooking Lady wrote on September 16, 2009
My eggplant is in the freezer as we speak, but I do have a question, and pardon my lack of knowledge in this arena. Why not use tahini? Are the sesame seeds processed as in cooked at any stage and or pasturized? I use tahini all the time in my homemade hummus. I am not fully raw but starting to incorperate new dishes all the time. Thanks for any advice.
Susan wrote on September 16, 2009
I use tahini in my raw humus. In this I just wanted the eggplant and garlic. I like it that way but you are welcome to put it in.
Susan
Mandy wrote on September 10, 2009
I am so HAPPY that you just posted this recipe. Was just thinking of a little Baba the other day…However, SAD because, I just composted 1/2 eggplant that was getting a little dark, b/c I couldn’t think of anything to do with it! Arg!
Lori- pure2raw wrote on September 9, 2009
Wow, looks great! I have heard that you have to be careful when eating raw eggplant? When I first went raw – I came across articles saying that eggplant has to be cooked because of some bacteria or something that can be harmful. So, I have not tried it raw yet. But this idea intrigues me! Thanks.
Susan wrote on September 9, 2009
I have done quite a bit of research on this and I haven’t found any thing yet that suggests that you shouldn’t eat it raw. As in everything, moderation is the key.
Eco Mama wrote on September 9, 2009
Oh Yum! That looks great!
VeggieGirl wrote on September 9, 2009
BRILLIANT!!!