It was after a trip to the farmer’s market when I got an eggplant that I first made this dip for the boys. It was their first time having eggplant, that I can remember anyway. I quickly realized they like eggplant. We planted some that summer!
Unfortunately for us we weren’t able to harvest many eggplants last year. It wasn’t the best year for anything other than tomatoes in the garden. We continued to get them at the market though and tried cooking it several different ways. Ewan was the biggest fan, though the other boys liked it as well.
This dip was their preferred method. Why wouldn’t they like it, it’s a dip and goes so well with fresh sourdough bread! Pretty much perfect “kid” food, and the adults like it too.
When I made it most recently Jack was watching me. Once he saw the roasted eggplant come out of the oven and the skin come off he was appalled. He thought it looked disgusting and asked if he would have to eat it.
Fast forward a couple hours later when the boys and Daddy came home from the pool and Jack dove into the dip. He kept saying “this is awesome” and made sure his brothers all tried it. I think he got over how the inside of a roasted eggplant looks.
We like it as a really smooth dip, but for a more rustic feel you could certainly finely chop the eggplant. Ewan has even requested it on sourdough with mayo for a sandwich!
Roasted Eggplant Dip
2 medium eggplant
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Pierce a few holes in the eggplants and place on sheet pan or in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, time will depend on size.
Allow the roasted eggplant to cool slightly and then remove the skin. Place the eggplant, garlic and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Drizzle in the olive oil while blending. If you desire a thinner dip add a little more oil. Add in the Parmesan and blend. Taste for flavor and add salt and pepper.
Note: You could also roughly chop the roasted eggplant, mince the garlic and stir everything by hand for a more rustic chunky dip.
Yields: 6-8 servings
Feeding My 3 Sons 
I love this, looks so great!
Thanks Deb! The boys certainly are crazy about it. I’m really hoping we can get some eggplant to grow this year.
I haven’t made eggplant dip in ages, thanks for the reminder, we love it too. I like the cheesey touch
Everything is better with cheese, right?! The Parmesan gives it that added saltiness without needing to add too much salt.
Great dip Gretchen – you’d hardly tell its eggplant by the colour – and I’ll be trying the pairing with Parmesan from here in as my go-to is always babaganoush….
Oh yes babaganoush is also a great eggplant dip. For some reason I don’t make it much, but I definitely order it in restaurants.
Lovely! Anything with aubergine works for me 😀😀😀
I don’t cook aubergines often, not sure why. I’m working on changing that, especially if they grow well in the garden.
There’s so much you can do with aubergines, they take on flavours so well 🙂
I made some roasted eggplant but mine had colour…I wonder why even though I also removed the skin. Yours looks so white. Maybe it’s because you added Parmesan? oh no! wait a minute, I think I roasted the eggplant with some bell pepper as well. Makes sense. Have a wonderful weekend, ahead.
Mine was an off white, beige type dip. Peppers would definitely change it and you know mine will never contain any type of bell pepper!
mmm. . . this looks yummy.
Thank you! It was quite delicious and didn’t last too long.