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Eggplant and Tahini

A roasted eggplant dip made with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and olive oil.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Eggplant and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 801 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Eggplant and Tahini

Ovenhot oven
Time30–45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Roast the eggplant

  1. Roast the eggplant on an open flame.

  2. If using an electric stove, split the eggplant lengthwise, place face down on a cookie sheet, and bake in a hot oven on the top rack for 30–45 minutes.

  3. For open flame roasting, use a fork to turn the eggplant often.

  4. When the eggplant is completely soft all over, remove it to a bowl, slash once or twice to drain out bitter juice, and let it rest until cool enough to handle.

  5. Some cooks suggest cooling the eggplant inside a brown paper bag.

Make the dip

  1. Cut off the stem and peel away the skin.

  2. Scrape the flesh into a bowl of a food processor or blender.

  3. Add garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and process.

  4. Taste frequently and adjust quantities as desired.

  5. Add salt to taste.

Serve

  1. Serve at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil, and garnished with a black or green Mediterranean olive or sprigs of cilantro or parsley.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

266Calories
4 gProtein
22 gFat
18 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Tahini1 tbsp (15g)89
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Eggplant + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together801 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together943 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Eggplant + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together154 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggplant
Its soft flesh becomes the creamy body of the dip once roasted and peeled.
Tahini
Sesame paste adds richness and a nutty flavour that gives the dip its character.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the dip and balances the richness of the tahini.
Garlic
Provides sharp aroma and pungency that stands out in the blended dip.
Olive oil
Adds fat and a fruity finish when drizzled over the dip before serving.

The step that matters

Roast the eggplant until completely soft. Undercooked eggplant stays firm and bitter and will not blend into a smooth dip. Turning it often over an open flame, or baking it until soft throughout, collapses the flesh so it purees evenly.

Swap the tahini

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, lemon, clove, garlic, olive):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Lentilsfits better
  3. Cashew nutfits better
  4. Tahinithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, lemon, clove, garlic, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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