Eggplant and red peppers are both elements in some of my favorite dips – from smoky Baba Ganoush and Moutabal to spicy Baigan Choka (eggplant-based dips) and rich Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper Dip), and even this delicious Eggplant Tomato Dip. Now, I’m mixing things up with a smoky eggplant red pepper dip! This eggplant red pepper dip lies somewhere between Balkan ajvar and Middle Eastern baba ganoush with a combination of the sweetness and smokiness from red peppers, smoky creaminess from charred eggplant, acidity from lemon juice, slight bitter richness from tahini, and flavor and tang from garlic. The result is a full-flavored, delicious eggplant red pepper dip worthy of love! Even better, this ‘dip’ can also be served as a sauce, spread, and even a relish! Keep reading for tons of ways to serve and enjoy it!
What Are Ajvar and Baba Ganoush?
This eggplant red pepper dip is what I consider ajvar with a Middle Eastern twist – baba ganoush style. Ajvar (pronounced eye-var) is a Balkan condiment created to preserve the summer’s harvest of red peppers. It is made up of charred bell peppers, eggplant, and oil and is served as a relish and sauce. The dip is easily adapted from sweet to spicy by adding chili peppers and is usually served as a spread with bread or as a side dish. Ajvar is also optionally simmered down over low heat for several hours to further reduce and develop the flavors. In comparison, baba ganoush is a Lebanese dip consisting of charred eggplant with lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, and several seasonings. Once prepared, baba ganoush is a wonderful mezze dip and side, served alongside pita and other dishes. This eggplant red pepper dip takes elements from both combining the charred red pepper and eggplant with tahini, lemon, and garlic base. The resulting mixture can be served as a dip, spread, or ‘condiment.’ In fact, the main difference is that I actually omit oil from this recipe and use it as a garnish instead of within the red pepper dip.
The Ingredients
Eggplant: use a ripe, smooth, smaller eggplant for the best results. Make sure to choose eggplants carefully for the best results (tips in link).Red pepper: All you need is one large red bell pepper for this.Lemon: use fresh lemon juice, not bottled!Tahini: I use homemade tahini – if buying from a store, make sure to get raw unsalted tahini.Garlic: a must-have for flavor. If you don’t like the ‘harshness’ of raw garlic then feel free to mince it (after peeling) and let it sit in the lemon juice while you char the vegetables. This will help to mellow the flavor.Salt: to season, feel free to adjust this amount to personal taste.Toppings: I used a topping of pomegranate molasses and fresh parsley, feel free to swap this out for the toppings of your choice.(Optional) Spice: for a little spice you could add a chili pepper (also blistered) to the red pepper dip. You could also add in a pinch of smoky or hot cayenne pepper or top the dip with a little chili oil or red pepper flakes. (Optional) Feta: a light crumbling of feta (or vegan feta) makes for a wonderful topping when serving this as a dip.
How To Make Eggplant Red Pepper Dip
Step 1: Charr the pepper and eggplant
As soon as it’s charred, place it in an airtight jar. Then, charr the eggplant as well. The skin will begin to shrivel as it chars so it’s ready when it’s well charred and starting to shrivel up – usually 4-5 mins per side. Once charred, place it in an airtight jar as well. If you find that your red pepper/eggplant are fully charred but the flesh isn’t tender, you can transfer them to a baking sheet and bake at 400ºF/200ºC until almost collapsing (this can take between 10-25 minutes).
Step 2: Remove the skin
Keep the pepper and eggplant in the airtight glass jar/s and allow them to steam for 10 minutes. This will make them really easy to peel. And they will both get the distinct smoky flavor. After steaming, peel the skin from both and discard it.
Step 3: Mash the eggplant red pepper dip
Break the red pepper apart and remove the stem and seeds then blend the pepper in a food processor until it’s a thick puree. Then add this along with all the remaining ingredients to a large bowl and use a fork to mash the eggplant into a combined eggplant red pepper dip. For a smoother dip, you can add all of the ingredients to the food processor and process them into a smooth mixture. I usually mash it by hand to be more reminiscent of traditional baba ganoush. Top with some parsley and optionally a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, a little olive oil, and pomegranate seeds.
How To Serve
You can serve this eggplant red pepper dish ‘ajvar’ style aka as a dip, spread, sauce, or relish in tons of different ways. Traditionally, ajvar is served with cevapi, a type of sausage, and a Serbian flatbread called lepinja or other crusty bread.
It can be served with all kinds of bread, including pita, Ramadan pide, and Manakish, with Pretzels, simit, crostini, and more!You can also serve the red pepper dip with crackers (like these seed crackers or naturally colored crackers) or crudites. Spoon it over grilled and baked proteins and veggies like baked tofu, roasted cauliflower, asparagus, fish, etc. You can also use it as a red pepper spread. For example, within sandwiches or pita, burgers, hotdogs, wraps, or tortillas using this tortilla hack, etc.This ajvar style sauce can also be used as a sauce for pasta and when cooking veggies on the stovetop like chickpeas or zucchini. And feel free to add it to a mezze platter alongside other dips like creamy hummus, Herby Labneh Dip with Roasted Tomatoes, and Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip.
How To Make Ahead and Store
Make ahead: the pepper and eggplant can be cooked in advance and stored, peeled, in the fridge for 1-2 days before continuing with the recipe. Store: allow the eggplant red pepper dip to cool completely and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for between 3-4 days. I haven’t tried freezing this dip as I would imagine that the textures would be altered. However, if you try then please let me know the results.
Other Recipe Notes
If you find the eggplant red pepper dip a little ‘thin’ or watery: transfer it to a pan and cook over low heat until it reduces to your preferred consistency. In fact, for ajvar, the sauce is typically simmered over 2+hrs to reduce and develop the flavors.For a ‘silkier’ spread: feel free to add olive oil to the dip when mashing. It will yield improved mouth-feel but isn’t necessary.This recipe was NOT designed with long-term preservation in mind, so I cannot recommend attempting to ‘can/jar’ it. Adapt this to your preferred heat level: The original eggplant red pepper dip just contains a sweet bell pepper. However, you can easily adjust the heat by adding a charred chili of your desired heat level (click the link and scroll down for a list of peppers and their heat level).
Related Recipes & Dips
If you try this roasted eggplant dip recipe, then let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments. I’d also really appreciate a recipe rating and would love to see your recreations – just tag @AlphaFoodie.
