Baba Ghannouj, gluten-free of course

Ok so it's not that big of a deal to make gluten free baba ghannouj, but I thought I'd post this recipe anyway! It's delicious!! And if you have a lot of eggplants from the garden, it will help you get rid of some. Then, you can make some crackers (like these delicious Sesame Crackers from Elana's Pantry) and viola! :)

Baba Ghannouj

1 large eggplant
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for garlic
4 - 5 Tablespoons tahini
3- 4 cloves garlic, not peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Slice the tip off of the garlic cloves and drizzle a little olive oil on them. Remove the green around the stem of the eggplant, but leave the stem. Place in a baking pan or sheet in a hot 350 degree oven with the garlic for about 20 minutes, or until soft. (Eggplant may get soft before garlic). Cool.

OPTIONAL: you can roast a whole head of garlic and make a separate roasted garlic dip with the rest of the garlic, a little olive oil, s & p.

While holding the eggplant by its stem, straight up, hold with your other hand a small paring knife and hold the tip against the skin right under the stem, the edge of the knife toward the bottom of the eggplant. Cut right under the skin and turn the edge up to cut an incision right under the skin so you may peel it off. you may have to do this further down as well if it doesn't peel all the way to the bottom. You just want to take the skin off without loosing much of the flesh of the eggplant. Cut off stem and place in food processor. (You could actually do this in a bowl with a fork instead if you like). Add the olive oil in a small stream while the food processor is running. Then add alternately the tahini and lemon juice. Smash the garlic with salt with the back of a spoon and add it to dip. Add salt if desired.

Serve with low carb crackers, or rice crackers (if not watching carbs).