Baba Ganoush

Method

1. char25 min
   direct flame or coals, high, turning every 5 min
   whole eggplant set straight on the burner grate — prick it first so steam escapes rather than bursting the skin. Keep going past the point it looks ruined: the skin must be uniformly black and papery and the eggplant must sag like a deflated balloon. Smoke flavor is deposited on the flesh through the split skin while the interior steams in its own water, so a half-charred eggplant is a raw eggplant with a burnt jacket.
2. rest10 min
   covered, off heat
   charred eggplant under a bowl or foil — the trapped steam loosens the skin from the flesh so it peels off in sheets instead of taking the smoky layer with it
3. peel5 min
   warm
   skin and stem discarded. Chase down stray flecks of black skin, which read as bitter ash rather than smoke, but do not rinse the flesh — rinsing washes off exactly what the char put on.
4. rest20 min
   in a colander, draining
   peeled flesh left to shed its liquid. An eggplant is mostly water and that water is flavorless; leave it in and the tahini cannot bind, giving a soupy dip that separates within the hour.
5. mash4 min
   fork or wooden spoon, in a bowl
   drained flesh worked into rough strands. Hand-mashing keeps the fibers intact so the dip stays loose and shaggy; a blender shears them and whips air in, turning it into a smooth beige paste that tastes flatter than what went in.
6. fold3 min
   off heat
   + garlic paste + lemon juice + tahini + salt, folded rather than beaten so the tahini coats the strands without emulsifying into a hummus
7. top2 min
   room temperature
   + olive oil pooled on the surface + optionals. Serve at room temperature — cold mutes the smoke, which is volatile and only reads on a warm palate.