My grandmother has always roasted whole aubergines in her outdoor oven, or over a small fire, sitting them very close to the flames until the skins are charred and the flesh becomes completely soft. She’ll scoop out the aubergine, add olive oil, lemon and garlic, and keep it in the fridge to eat with bread, add to lunch or have alongside whatever else is being served. She doesn’t usually blend it, so it stays quite rustic with pieces of soft aubergine throughout.
For this version, I wanted to take that idea and make it more like a baba ganoush, blending the aubergine with tahini until creamy. I also wanted a little more nuttiness, so I added toasted walnuts, which work really well with the aubergine and tahini.
And I couldn’t resist adding roasted garlic. It becomes sweet and mellow as it roasts, and it’s so easy to include because I roast the whole bulb on the same tray as the aubergines. A little lemon keeps everything fresh, while the walnuts give the baba ganoush a slightly different texture and flavour from the more traditional version.
I like serving this at room temperature with a generous drizzle of olive oil, extra chopped walnuts and fresh parsley, with plenty of bread for scooping.
