Moutabal—a Heavenly Purée
The smoky, parchment-hued cream moutabal is one of my desert-island dishes. Few recipes can produce anything as soft and sensuous as grilled eggplant, mashed to a pulp, and seasoned with lemon and sesame paste. The lemon is essential, working an ancient magic when involved with anything charred and smoky. Many lightly bake their eggplant for this, but without a good charring they lack the mysterious, smoky back notes that I consider as much a part of the ingredients as the eggplant itself.
Recipe information
Yield
enough for 2
Ingredients
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Slit the eggplants here and there with a sharp knife and bake them until their skin is black and charred and they are melting and tender inside—about forty minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh with a teaspoon. This is a messy business, but try not to get any of the skin in with the flesh. Mash the flesh with a fork, beating in the lemon juice, crushed garlic, tahini paste, olive oil, and a good seasoning of salt. It may look a little curdled but it will taste wonderful.
