Mutabal is an aubergine cream with a delicious smoky taste. It is one of the classic dishes that are consumed as an appetizer or “mezze” in countries such as Armenia, the Lebanese Republic, Syria and Turkey. It is not only delicious, but also nutritious and very easy to prepare.
Born from baba ganoush, it is a more spicy cream, with the addition of tahini or sesame paste, a classic ingredient of this cuisine. You can accompany it to your liking with pita bread or some crunchy vegetable sticks such as cucumber, celery or carrot. It is so rich that it is also known as “aubergine caviar”. Tempted? Keep reading this article and discover how to make mutabal, let’s cook!
Ingredients to make Lebanese Mutabal:
- 1 eggplant
- ¼ teaspoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 roasted garlic clove
- 25 milliliters of lemon juice
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper to taste
How to make Lebanese Mutabal:
To start preparing this delicious mutabal, grill the aubergines. To do this, you can burn them clean with their skin by placing them directly on the fire, on the grill or wrap them in aluminum foil and cook them on the coals or in the hot oven (200 ºC) for approximately 30 minutes. At this point we want the aubergines to take on the classic smoky flavor of this dish. Once cooked, cut them in half and remove the pulp. Reserve it.
Cook the garlic wrapped in aluminum foil in the hot oven (200 ºC) or on the coals for 30 minutes. You will get a smooth and smoked garlic paste that will be wonderful in this and many other recipes.
Tip: keep it in the fridge and it will last for more than 1 week.
Process 1 clove of garlic with the eggplant pulp and seasonings. Rectify the flavor as many times as necessary. The original mutabal recipe grinds the eggplant pulp with the ingredients in a mortar. This may even be an option for you if you don’t have a food processor. In fact, if you don’t have a mortar either, you could mash the aubergines and garlic with the help of a fork. They will be so soft from cooking that it will not be a problem. Anyone can make this dish!
Tip: if you use a food processor, add the oil in the form of a thread to create a very smooth, airy and smooth cream, as you see in the image.
Serve the Lebanese mutabal in a bowl and decorate it with a dash of oil and paprika. To eat!
Tip: if you wish, you can add mint leaves or chopped parsley to finish decorating and flavoring your roasted eggplant mutabal.
