Moutabal

Name: Moutabal
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: for lots of people
Cuisine: Turkish recipes
Ingredients: 2 large aubergines (about 250g each), slashed lengthways 4 times; 2 fat garlic cloves, chopped and mashed to a purée with 1 tsp sea salt flakes; 2 tbsp tahini paste; Juice of ½ lemon (or more to taste); 1 tbsp olive oil; 100g unsalted butter; 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted; 1½ tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley; 1 tsp smoked paprika to serve; Flatbreads to serve

Portion size: for lots of people
Takes 20 min to make, 40 min to cook
Difficulty: easy

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Moutabal (also known as baba ghanoush) is a smoky aubergine dip made with olive oil, lemons, tahini, pine nuts and plenty of garlic.

Our delicious and easy-to-follow Moutabal recipe is ideal for mezze platters or as a dip or starter with fresh vegetables or warm pitta bread. It’s the perfect way to bring the authentic taste of the Middle East to any meal time.

You might also like our baba ganoush tarts.

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Ingredients

2 large aubergines (about 250g each), slashed lengthways 4 times
2 fat garlic cloves, chopped and mashed to a purée with 1 tsp sea salt flakes
2 tbsp tahini paste
Juice of ½ lemon (or more to taste)
1 tbsp olive oil
100g unsalted butter
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1½ tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp smoked paprika to serve
Flatbreads to serve

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Method

Light the barbecue. When the flames have died back and the charcoal is grey but with an orange glow (after about 20-30 minutes), put the aubergines on the grill and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning often, until well charred and completely soft (see tip). Let the cooked aubergines cool, then split them open lengthways and scrape the flesh into a bowl, cutting as close to the skin as possible, but taking care not to pick up any charred skin.
Mash the aubergine flesh with a fork or whizz in a food processor with the garlic, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil (see tip). The tahini taste should be subtle (remember, you can add more but you can’t take it out), and the lemon juice shouldn’t make it overly tart. Season with sea salt to taste – with aubergine, I find you need a fair amount to bring out the flavour.
Put the butter in a small pan and bring to a very low simmer. Use a spoon to remove any white milky solids that rise to the top.
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Put the moutabal in a shallow bowl and make indents in the top. Pour over the clarified butter, taking care to leave any white solids in the pan.
Sprinkle over the pine nuts and parsley, dust with smoked paprika and serve with flatbreads.

Nutrition

124kcals Calories
12.4g (5.4g saturated) Fat
1.7g Protein
1.5g (1.2g sugar) Carbs
1.9g Fibre
0.4g Salt

Quick wins & tips

If you’re cooking inside rather than outside on the barbecue, char the skins in a hot griddle pan over a medium heat, then transfer to an oven preheated to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4 and cook, covered with foil, for 20 minutes until softened through.