More or less, it took two days to prepare Baba Ghannouj this week, though active time clocked at just under 30 minutes. We grilled out last night, and I roasted a plump eggplant in preparation for another meal. Today, I reached for the roasted eggplant (from the refrigerator) and blended it with my remaining baba ingredients. Here’s my basic baba recipe:

Two-Day Baba Ghannouj

1 large eggplant

2 tablespoons tahini

3 cloves garlic, diced

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

splash of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Rinse eggplant. Grill over medium heat 20 minutes, turning as necessary. Gently peel eggplant while still warm. We never turn down baba ghannouj, but I wanted to reserve the baba for another day, so I sealed the eggplant and refrigerated it for about 24 hours. Next day . . . I placed the eggplant (cubed) in the blender with all of the ingredients and blended for two minutes. Results: two-day baba rates right up there with one-day fresh.

Yield: 4-6