I have, from no will, desire, or planning of my own, ended up with a Japanese eggplant. It was free. It was handed to me in a, "You cook, right? Here you go!" kind of way. So, now I've ended up with this eggplant that I must find something to do with! Because yes, yes I do cook. And I'm probably one of the best people to have it randomly handed to because I do actually get excited about random ingredients, as if I'm in some kind of mystery box cooking show! That may, in fact, explain a lot about the way in which I go about cooking... Nevertheless, it is now Japanese eggplant avocado dip time!
My History with Eggplant
Now, I have a hit and miss relationship with eggplant. It's known for being mildly flavored and kind of awkwardly textured. Almost like if a mushroom was... long and purple. (Yes, yes I am aware of the joke that can be inserted there. So, laugh now at the eggplant puns and move on!)
I've also lived on several farms. One of the fun things that happens on farms sometimes is a partnership with grocery stores to donate produce that isn't fit for human consumption again. Since most livestock have better constitutions and don't mind the bumps, scrapes, and bruises on otherwise perfectly edible produce! Even you can get it to work out, they're able to donate them by the truckload. So, you end up with just crates and crates and crates of fruits and vegetables. This doesn't always happen and a lot of grocery stores literally ban donations of produce for reasons that I will never understand!
But every now and then you end up with hundreds of pounds of eggplant. And I can tell you from abundant experience, that absolutely no farm animal will eat eggplant. Not cows, not pigs, not goats, not sheep, not chickens, and no ducks would actually eat the eggplant! It just got trampled on and composted into a soup on the ground. For whatever reason, none of the animals ever actually saw eggplant as food.
Although I do kind of like baba ghanoush. So, here we have a cross between guacamole and baba ghanoush... with Greek yogurt. It's actually delicious.
Gallery
Variations of Eggplant Avocado Dip
I have no other recipes with eggplant. I'm not that big a fan of eggplant and it isn't one of those ingredients that I seek out. Perhaps I should broaden my horizons and change that! After all, our taste buds are constantly changing and there are plenty of foods now I adore that I wouldn't have touched 10 years ago. So, instead of scoffing and turning up my nose at it, I've made something delicious out of a dish that I'm a huge fan of and make constantly.
Eggplant avocado dip is a mix of baba ghanoush and guacamole with Japanese eggplant, avocados, garlic, lime juice, Greek yogurt, tahini, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. It's incredibly simple to make. All you need is 10 minutes and a food processor and voila! An absolutely delicious fusion.
Cuisine American, Japanese, Latin American, Middle Eastern
Servings 2.5cups
Equipment
Food Processor
Ingredients
3avocados
1Japanese eggplant
3clovesgarlic
3limesjuiced
3/4c.Greek yogurt
2tbsp.tahini
2tbsp.olive oil
dashsalt
dashpepper
Instructions
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Process for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides occasionally.
Serve chilled. It's perfectly fine at room temperature and can be served immediately in a pinch. Although I would recommend refrigerating for about an hour.Avocado dip is also a great meal to make ahead of time and keeps without discoloration for about a week. Garlic, lime juice, salt, and olive oil all serve as natural preservatives. So, while avocados tend to go bad rather quickly, the natural browning and spoiling process is vastly reduced in this recipe. It keeps incredibly well.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For more tips and tricks for what avocado is, how to make it, and what other ingredients are fun to play around with, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Avocado & Greek Yogurt Dip. It's essentially a mix between hummus and guacamole, but is easier to make, lasts longer, and goes with a wider variety of dishes. It's one of my favorite things to make for potlucks or just on a lazy summer day.
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