Creamy Oven-Roasted Eggplant Dip (Baba Ganoush)

Yield: about 2 cups

1. Preheat the oven to 475 F (245C). 

2. Poke about a dozen holes into the eggplant skin, using the tip of a small, sharp knife or a fork. This step allow steam to escape evenly, which will keep the eggplant from exploding as it roasts. Put the whole eggplant on a rimmed baking sheet.

3. Roast the eggplant 25-30 minutes, until it looks softened, shriveled and deflated. Set it aside until it's cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.

4. While the eggplant is roasting, heat the olive oil and garlic in a small skillet over medium-high heat until the garlic smells fragrant and starts to sizzle — try not to let it brown, or it will taste bitter. Set aside.

5. Set a strainer or colander over a mixing bowl. Pull or slice off the stem end of the eggplant, and cut into the skin with the the tip of a knife to open the eggplant like a book. Pull out the soft flesh using your hands, a fork or spoon, and place into the colander (you can throw out the blackened skin). Allow it to drain for a few minutes, then pour out and discard the juices in the bowl that exuded from the eggplant.

6. Put the drained eggplant flesh back into the bowl. Add the reserved toasted garlic and olive oil, tahini paste, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne. Mash everything together to make a coarse puree — you can use a pestle, potato masher or wooden spoon. For an ultra-smooth texture, pulse an immersion blender into the mixture until it's light and airy, or puree in a food processor.

7. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, lemon or vinegar as needed to make your taste buds happy.

8. Serve the dip at room temperature, in small bowls or swirled onto a platter or shallow bowl. Sprinkle the herbs and sesame seeds over the top and drizzle with olive oil.