This is how you roast aubergines
To give your baba ganoush from scratch the most delicious smoky flavour possible, you need to treat your main ingredient as it should be treated: with fire and flames.
You can roast aubergines in the oven, but then you won’t get that smoky flavour that makes baba ganoush so delicious. An open grill or barbecue is therefore a very good option. If you don’t have one nearby, which we can imagine, use something almost everyone has at home: a gas burner.
With care
Because an aubergine contains a lot of moisture, it’s a good idea to put some aluminium foil around the burner you’re going to roast it on. The internet suggests pricking the aubergine with a fork beforehand to prevent explosions. However, we’ve never done this and have roasted many aubergines in our lives, so do with that tip what you will.
Place the aubergine in the centre of the burner, with or without a pan trivet, and turn the heat to medium. And no, you can’t do other things in the meantime. To prevent the skin from not only scorching but burning completely, you need to stay with it continuously. Turn it over with grilling tongs or a clamp so that all sides are evenly charred.
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Patience is a virtue
These are things your mother might say to you: ‘with care!’ and ‘patience is a virtue’. But take it from us: this time, she’s right. You really do need to leave your aubergine on the flame for quite a while. Let’s say a medium-sized aubergine needs twenty to thirty minutes, turning it a quarter turn every five minutes.
Once the aubergine is completely soft, collapsed and charred, you should see the skin starting to flake. Remove the aubergine from the burner and let it cool thoroughly. This will make it easier to spoon the flesh out of the skin afterwards. Or the other way around, if the skin has completely fallen to pieces.
Making baba ganoush
Once you’ve spooned the skin clean and have a bowl of delicious-smelling, soft aubergine flesh left, you can get started. You can now make creamy, smoky yet fresh baba ganoush. Topped with pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander on top.
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