Julia Child’s Eggplant-Walnut Dip
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:About 4 cups
- 2firm, shiny eggplants (about 2 pounds total)
- 1cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
- 1 to 3garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and minced or put through a press
- 1teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼teaspoon ground allspice (or another warm spice or spice blend, like cinnamon, coriander or garam masala)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Hot sauce, such as Tabasco
- 5 to 8tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut green caps off eggplants and place them whole in a baking dish. Bake until very soft and collapsing, 30 to 35 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scrape flesh into the bowl of a mixer (or use a hand mixer).
- Step 2
Beat at high speed for about two minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Add walnuts, garlic, ginger, allspice, two big pinches of salt and one of pepper. Shake in a few dashes of hot sauce. Mix well.
- Step 3
With the mixer running, gradually drizzle in oil, as if making mayonnaise, just until mixture is emulsified and creamy. Stop, taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper and hot sauce. If desired, beat in remaining olive oil.
- Step 4
Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to one week.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
MR
In hot weather, out of respect for need to use less energy, consider cooking eggplants, cut in half, face down in glass dish, in microwave until they are tender. 4-6 min./each. This method may produce some liquid. Use it.
anne
La Tentation de Bramafam was one of the first things I made from Mastering II. It is simply delicious, served with toasted pita bread or straight from the spoon. Recommend 3 cloves of garlic. I add a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley or cilantro. May the kitchen goddesses forgive me.
Martha
I think this might be nice with a sprinkle of Zatar or Aleppo pepper along with the olive oil. That's how I finish my baba ganoush and it really compliments the dish.
Stu
In hot weather, I cook the e-plants on the grill over low heat until soft. Be sure to pierce the skins with a fork to prevent explosion. I often use Asian e-plants from the garden. Just remove the ends, cook 'till soft, and throw everything in the food processor. (I once made the mistake of using a whole habanero instead of Tabasco for extra heat. DON'T DO IT!)
L. Amenope
After my mom roasted eggplant, she would put it on the kitchen counter with about half the cut end drooping into the sink, allowing it to drain while it cooled. I do this now, and find it drains just enough of the liquid, without becoming too dry.
jd
Toasted or plain pita bits? Slices of crusty bread?
linda
we've had something similar around Passover - goes great on matzo.
Zeus G
Sorry Julia. I still love you, but this time I used pine nuts that I think go better with eggplant. It was the best batch ever. Use slightly less pine nuts than specified walnuts.
George
I know it's claimed on the Internet, but there's no real evidence that microwaving degrades or removes nutrients.
Linda608
I added a splash of lemon for brightness and it was wonderful!
Anne
I've been making this one since I bought Mastering II many decades ago. It is delicious. Barbara Kafka's Microwave Gourmet recipe for a similar recipe cooks the eggplants in the microwave. Microwaving quicker and the eggplant stays green rather than turning brown as it does in the oven.
Brian
Don’t eat right after making. Let it marry in the fridge for several hours. Great recipe.
Margaret Pigott
I agree with the comment about adding lemon. It adds so much!
KP
This is definitely a dish that you want to let sit for a few hours to let the flavors come out. Delicious.
Sabina Shelby
the flavor was delicious. I had to add quite a bit of salt to make the flavors come out but that may be the case with all eggplant dishes.
Linda608
I added a splash of lemon for brightness and it was wonderful!
Brian
Don’t eat right after making. Let it marry in the fridge for several hours. Great recipe.
Janet
Following others’ comments: definitely drain the eggplant in a sieve for a few minutes before proceeding with the spices, and definitely use a food processor if you have one. I had to remove some stubborn bits and chop them. I coarsest. Chopped the nuts for a chunkier texture. Also, one eggplant took nearly an hour to collapse in an accurate oven. I’ll definitely make this again, even if the color is really drab!
Little Pecan
There’s something off about the flavor balance of this dip, and it’s not something that can be resurrected with more salt or some lemon or whatnot. It’s both strong and bland at the same time. It may be, as folks have suggested, the way the eggplant is prepared. Sorry Julia!
anne
Two changes recently made. Pecans for walnuts. Five spice powder instead of all spice. With apologies to Julia, it suited my taste to a “t.”
Marina
This is a great spread/dip! I ground the walnuts in a food processor first and put the cooled eggplant in with them after. Used coriander as the spice along with juice of one lemon and Trader Joe's chili lime spice since I had it on hand. The oil at the end really hit it out if the park, creating the perfect smooth texture. Delicious! Will make again.
Frank P
Great recipe. I used three cloves of garlic. Overpowered the flavor. I will only use one in the future. Walnuts were delicious
Devon
Wanted to love this but didn’t. An immersion blender worked well for texture but I felt like some of the seasonings didn’t really come together. Maybe skipping the “warm” spices and sticking with lemon/fresh seasoning would be better. Just tastes like a jumble of flavors.
Hannah
I found this very bland before adding lots of extra salt, extra pepper, a dash of cinnamon, a couple shakes of dried oregano and lemon juice. Even after all that it was better, but not amazing. I probably will keep looking for a tasty eggplant dip (besides baba ganoush)
Brandon
Was not impressed with this dip, though some of my diners were. I think people who really enjoy eggplant will find this dish interesting and tasty. But you're not going to convert anyone to liking eggplant by serving this dish, or fool anyone into thinking "I can't believe this is eggplant, it tastes so good!" It's just a whole lot of mushy eggplant in your face, so you need to be able to deal with that.
mary
This was delicious.. I used Garam Masala for the spice and put some cayenne powder in for the heat. Whipped it all up in the food processor. Minced the garlic first then added the Eggplant then remaining ingredients. Worked out great unless you want bigger pieces of walnut.
Brad
I like the suggested tahini (1/2 tbs) and squirt of lemon juice. It gave the dish extra freshness and depth.
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