Zucchini Baba Ganoush
Dip for lunch, dinner, or anytime
Who doesn't like a dip? Honestly, I ended up having this for lunch Tuesday while I was developing the recipe, and I was completely satisfied. It was so good, I had to eat it right then and there. I’m with Martin Short, or at least his character, Oliver Putnam, in Only Murders in the Building: give me dips anytime and I’ll be happy. Sure, there are plenty of good store-bought dips to be had. My current favorite is Esti’s Eggplant Hummus. Not baba ganoush, which they also make — it has to be the eggplant hummus. It tastes as good as homemade with chunks of eggplant in it.
Homemade is almost always better when it comes to dips, and they are easy to make. Not only that, they are a good repository for some of the summer veg that is plentiful and cheap now that we are into deep summer. If you have a vegetable garden and grow zucchini, you’ll be looking for ideas to use it up. This one’s for you!
I think we all know that some people don’t like eggplant, or think they don’t like eggplant, so this zucchini variation is perfect for them. I first saw the idea to treat zucchini like eggplant in Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty More almost ten years ago, and have been meaning to try it ever since. Well, now that I did, I am not looking back. I charred the zucchini on all sides on my gas grill, which took about 25 minutes. You could also do this under the broiler in your oven, but times may vary depending on the heat of your broiler and how close the tray is to the element. Just turn every 5 minutes or so until it’s completely blackened. And of course you can use a charcoal grill, especially if you already have it fired up for something else.
One word of caution here is to look for smaller zucchini, about 8 ounces each, and to choose straight ones, rather than ones with a more bulbous bottom. These will have fewer seeds, or, I should say, the seeds will be small and undeveloped. When I first scraped the flesh out of the charred skins, I saw lots of little soft, transparent seeds, but they magically disappeared as I mixed in the yogurt and tahini. The seeds might be a little distracting if they were larger. If you can only find larger zucchini, consider scraping out the seedy part and discarding it.
I hope you’ll add this to your dip repertoire, and make my Whole Grain Cumin Crackerbread to go with them for a truly stellar aperitivo hour. One note on that recipe: bake the sheets one at a time for maximum crispness. If you bake both at once, you’ll need to add time to get them fully crisp and brown. Happy dipping!
If you do like eggplant…
Might I remind you about my Grilled Miso Eggplant, which I shared here last summer? It would be the perfect addition to your next celebration. Or you could make it on any weeknight! Remember to use the Susanality archives as a way to find recipes to make use of your favorite veg. You can search by word — like “zucchini” — or just browse chronologically. If you’re a free subscriber and would like access to all past posts (including the miso eggplant), consider upgrading to a paid, full-access subscription for $50 per year or $5 per month. As a reader-supported publication, your support truly matters!
