Mama Ghanoush

• 1 large aubergine
• 1 cinnamon quill (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• Salt to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup of tahini, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon pan-roasted cumin seeds, crushed
• Aleppo pepper or cayenne, to taste
• Finely chopped parsley or cilantro leaves, to garnish
• Olive oil, to taste

1. Using a fork, pierce the skin of the aubergine all over. Poke the cinnamon quill into one end and roast in the centre of a an oven set to the highest (mine was at 250 deg C), along with the cloves of unpeeled garlic. Depending on the size of your aubergines, you might roast for 20 or more minutes, until the aubergine is soft and the skin turns brown.
2. Remove from the oven once soft and set aside till cool enough to handle. Prepare your food processor. Once cool, remove and discard the cinnamon quill. Then cut the soft aubergine open and gently scoop out the flesh, being careful with the skin.
3. Put the scooped out aubergine insides into the food processor, along with a pinch of salt, half of the lemon juice, half of the tahini, the garlic cloves and the cumin seeds. Blitz. Then add some olive oil till a thick puree is formed. Taste and adjust with the lemon, tahini and seasoning and blitz to get a smooth, soft dip.
4. Once ready, adjust heat level if necessary by stirring in some aleppo pepper or cayenne. Garnish with parsley or coriander (or both), to serve. Enjoy with pita chips or soft pide!

aubergine, cinnamon, garlic, salt, lemon, tahini, cumin seeds, pepper, parsley, olive oil

Taken from food52.com/recipes/9022-mama-ghanoush (may not work)