Ever since watching an episode of The Mind of a Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune in New York City, my mind has been infected with the idea of scorching eggplant directly over the burner into blackened, smoky, juicy, tender lumps of flesh. That episode has thus far disabled my ability to imagine cooking eggplants any other way, with frequent side effects including The Soloist and a newfound obsession with the Levantine dish called baba ganoush. Did you know that baba means “father” in Arabic? The word ganoush is said to be a person’s name—someone who invented the dish, perhaps? But in conjunction with baba it could mean “pampered daddy.” To be honest, I never really cared about this dish before; sad as it is, in my previous experience, there was not much else that interesting about this baba. A conforming suburban dad, at best.
Enter Smoky Daddy.
This infinitely more sultry version of baba ganoush draws inspiration from other mentors besides Gabrielle Hamilton, such as a Chinese appetizer from Hunan Province of steamed eggplants mashed with fried chilies. The bits and pieces of broken and seemingly unrelated recipes together make a creamy, fiery, cooling yet burning concoction of contrasting yet balanced flavors. The brown and almost syrup-like liquid smoke emitted from the blackened eggplants is mixed with extra-virgin olive oil to wet the craggy surface, from where it will smolder in the back of your mouth like the breath of a gentle burning hearth. I don’t know about your dad, but this one is cool for sure.
MAKES 2 SNACK-SIZE SERVINGS
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: grill rack; mortar and pestle (optional)
1 pound (450 to 500 g) eggplants (I use the slender Asian ones)
2 small shallots, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt, the thicker the better
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons juice from Pickled Chilies or juice from other pickled chilies
1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground fennel
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fine sea salt to taste
TOPPING
2 tablespoons Fried Chile Verde Sauce
1 tablespoon charred eggplant juice (from above)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Finely chopped fresh mint leaves and cilantro
Helldust, for sprinkling
Orange Chile Sambal (optional)
My Ultimate Chile Oil (optional)
1. Wash the eggplants and place them on a grilling rack set on top of a burner. Turn the heat to high and roast the eggplants, turning and repositioning them as needed, until every square inch of the skin is completely blackened and charred and the flesh is soft. If some parts of the skins are not charred thoroughly, it will make peeling them a lot harder. Transfer the eggplants to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside. (The eggplants will emit some dark brown juices as they sit, which will be used later on.)
2. In another large bowl, combine the shallots, garlic, yogurt, tahini, chile pickling juice, lemon juice, fish sauce, and sesame oil and whisk until smooth. Lightly toast the cumin, fennel, and black pepper in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, then add to the bowl as well.
3. The eggplants should be cooled by now. Cut off the stem tips, then peel away the charred skin (leave the liquid left by the eggplants in the bowl). I like to peel the eggplants right by a running tap to rinse off the charred skins that stick to my hands as I remove them. If there are some tiny black specks left on the eggplants, don’t worry about it. Finely chop the eggplants and add them to the bowl with the shallot mixture. With a large fork, whisk vigorously until the mixture is creamy, without large lumps. Taste and season with a bit of sea salt if needed.
4. Transfer the Smoky Daddy onto a serving plate. Add the Fried Chile Verde Sauce on top and give it a little swirl. Mix 1 tablespoon of the smoky juice emitted from the eggplants with the 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, then drizzle that evenly over the top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped mint and cilantro and Helldust for extra heat. You could also use Orange Chile Sambal and/or My Ultimate Chile Oil as the topping, which will be equally good.