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 C Cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1 Large Eggplant, diced frozen and thawed
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 T 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.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
BRILLIANT!!!
Oh Yum! That looks great!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Very profrssional. We’re proud of you Sue.
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!
Glad you like it! It is a favorite!
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!
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?
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.
just amazing!! we tried and we were speachless!
go on susan!!!
Thanks for the tip on the freezing… I can’t wait to try this!
Susan, you rock. I am leaving for vacation soon and “forgot” that I have a beautiful, fresh eggplant from the farmers’ market from last week; also, it’s pretty warm out and was looking for a raw vegan eggplant recipe. I will peel, dice and freeze it, and when I get back I’ll look forward to making this. Thanks a lot!