Description
This delicious dip comes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (with minor adjustments). It is delicious on baguette toasts or with crudité and lovely for a picnic or pot luck.
Ingredients
About 2 pounds firm, shiny, unblemished eggplant
8 ounces walnuts (about 2 cups), ground to a medium coarse meal
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1 to 4 large cloves of garlic, or to taste
4 to 6 squirts Tabasco or other hot sauce, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
5 to 8 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut off the green cap of the eggplant. For larger eggplant, cut in half lengthwise and place in a shallow roasting dish. For smaller eggplant, keep whole and place in a shallow roasting dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until thoroughly soft to the touch.
Scoop out the eggplant flesh into the bowl of a food processor (cut small eggplant lengthwise to easily access the flesh). Process to purée the eggplant.
Add the ground walnuts, salt, pepper, garlic, Tabasco, allspice, and ginger. Process to mix.
With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to form a creamy mass. The mixture should hold its shape softly when lifted with a spoon, not runny.
Taste and correct the seasonings. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of smoked paprika or za’atar.
Notes
The dip will keep for several days in the refrigerator. It may also be frozen.
Julia Child also suggests using the tentation as a filling for hard-boiled eggs or tomato shells, or to pass with cold meats or chicken.
From Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 2 © 1970 by Julia Child and Simone Beck
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dips, Spreads
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 75.96
- Sugar: 0.66 g.
- Sodium: 85.99 mg.
- Fat: 7.41 g.
- Saturated Fat: 0.82 g.
- Carbohydrates: 2.29 g.
- Fiber: 0.85 g.
- Protein: 1.21 g.
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: eggplant, walnuts Julia Child