Erotic eggplant makes baba ghanoush more exciting [photos]

I am a fan of baba ghanoush, and I am a fan of food that looks erotic. In today’s way of  conventional farming we’ve grown accustomed to getting that perfectly symmetrical eggplant or tomato.

But isn’t it just a little more interesting, and erotic, when we find something in our CSA box or backyard farm that looks like some parts of us?

I found this eggplant at a market and though it was grown conventionally it somehow escaped the “censors” at the farm. This is a perfect contribution to my semi-regular baba ghanoush eggplant dip that the family loves.

The trick is to find the wild eggplants like this one pictured above and below, roast the heck out of it in the oven, barbecue or fire pit, throw in some tehina (homemade if you can), garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil and you have the world’s most glorious dip.

This eggplant dip is famous in the Middle East, but loved everywhere.

I poo poo pre-made baba ghanoush and dips like hummous. They just don’t taste right. If you follow my magical baba ghanoush recipe here you will get a perfect spread every time –– with or without a male genitalia shaped aubergine. Finding one of these is just a bonus.

I also poo poo the idea that the food we buy has to look perfect. Want less food to go to waste? Buy those ugly bananas, the warped peppers and the sexy eggplants and save the planet! Okay this is a bit trite, but the idea is there: ugly and erotic food usually has no taste difference.

Do you have any pictures of food porn or erotically shaped vegetables grown in the Middle East? Send them in. We’d love to see them, and share.

Want some more Middle East recipes?
More baba ganoush
Shakshuka Tunisian Tomato Eggs Recipe
Za’atar-topped Pita
Moroccan Stuffed Artichoke Hearts
Apricot Chutney

Author: Karin Kloosterman

Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]