The beauty of having a smoker is that when it is going, you can make more than one thing at a time. This is kind of hard to do with your oven. This time I used the smoker to smoke trout, chicken and this eggplant post. My wife and I love anything smoked but not this time. I think next time I need to add some cream cheese for texture and a little more spice. This Smoked Eggplant Dip starts with smoking the eggplant and then blending it with yogurt, olive oil and spices. As my readers know, I try to substitute yogurt whenever possible to lighten up the dishes. As noted above, I think this recipe needs more texture.
Smoked Eggplant Dip
This smoked eggplant dip is essentially a baba ganoush. Many people do not like eggplant. It is perfect for smoking because it is a very sturdy vegetable. A lot of vegetables are not strong enough to stand up to smoke. I left the eggplant whole when I smoked it. The smoke certainly could penetrate the eggplant but if you want a really, really strong smoke flavor, you could slice the eggplant prior to smoking.
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, or to taste
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste, if desired
- Pinch of cayenne or aleppo pepper
- Pinch or two of ground cumin
- 1/2 - 1 cup of Fat-free yougrt
- 2 tablespoons well-chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided
- Heat smoker to 225°F.
- Place eggplants on smoker an cook for 60 - 90 minutes. They should be tender to the touch.
- Take off the skin after it cools.
- Cut in to cubes.
- Place into a food processor and blend into small pieces- don't overdo. Put in a bowl.
- Add yogurt, lemon, cayenne, cumin and 1 tablespoon parsley and mix until combined.
- Season with salt & pepper.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients
Smoked Eggplant.
Eggplant Smoked
Blended in Cuisinart.
Eggplant in Cuisnart
Plated.
Serve and enjoy!
Looks great! Any particular wood you prefer to smoke the eggplant over?
I favor cherry and hickory.
Funny thing is that in the pictures this dish looks like it has such great texture. Yet, who doesn’t LOVE cream cheese mixed in?!?
You are right on that but I was trying to keep it light. How about I just do it right and do it less often?