Eggplant Tahini Basil Crostini

Name: Eggplant Tahini Basil Crostini
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 20 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound eggplant; 1/3 cup tahini paste; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste; 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing crostini; 1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic; 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste; 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, divided; 1 sourdough baguette

User Reviews

4.8

15 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Servings
20 servings
Calories
66 kcal
Course
Appetizer
Cuisine
Middle Eastern

Eggplant Tahini Basil Crostini

Iris Warren

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Smoky roasted eggplant with creamy sesame tahini, lemon, garlic & fresh basil top grilled sourdough slices to make a healthy, delicious crostini.

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Ingredients

Servings

1 pound eggplant (1 whole medium eggplant), roasted
1/3 cup tahini paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing crostini
1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, divided
1 sourdough baguette (for gluten free, substitute your favorite certified GF bread - use a vegan bread to make vegan)

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Instructions

Roast the eggplant till very soft, scoop out the flesh with the smoky juices and discard the skin. Learn how to roast an eggplant. Place the roasted eggplant flesh in a mesh strainer in the sink and let it drain off excess liquid and return to room temperature.
Roughly chop 1/2 tbsp of the basil leaves, reserve the rest. Combine roasted eggplant, tahini paste, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and the 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh basil in a bowl. Use a fork to mash the mixture together till smooth, creamy and dip-like. Break apart any stringy pieces of eggplant with the fork. Taste the eggplant; add more salt or lemon juice to taste.
At this point, the mixture may be served as a dip in a bowl garnished with some fresh chiffonade-cut basil (see directions below), or you can make crostini with it. If serving as a dip, I recommend doubling the recipe to make a larger amount. If making as crostini, read on!
To make crostini, preheat grill to high or oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the baguette along a diagonal into 1/4 inch slices using a serrated knife. Do not slice them thicker than 1/4 inch, or they will be difficult to bite through when toasted/grilled.
Brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. If cooking on the grill (recommended), place slices on the grill and let them cook for 3-5 minutes till toasted golden brown with grill marks. If cooking in the oven, place the bread into the oven and let it toast for 8-10 minutes till the bottoms of the bread slices are golden brown and toasted. Flip the slices to check for doneness-- they will brown more on the bottom than they will on the top. Once toasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Chiffonade-cut the remaining fresh basil. Start by piling up 6-8 basil leaves on a cutting board, one atop the other.
Roll the leaves up, starting from the tip end and rolling inward towards the steam, to create a tight roll of leaves.
Slice the roll of leaves into thin strips at an angle to create long, thin pieces of basil. Repeat process with remaining basil.
Top each baguette slice with 2 tsp of the eggplant dip. Garnish each slice with a little chopped basil. Serve.

Notes

Gluten free modification - omit baguette, serve as a dip with with gluten free toast or crackers.
Gluten free modification - omit baguette, serve as a dip with with gluten free toast or crackers.

Nutrition Information

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Calories 66kcal (3%) Carbohydrates 8g (3%) Protein 2g (4%) Fat 2g (3%) Sodium 107mg (4%) Potassium 85mg (2%) Fiber 1g (4%) Vitamin A 40IU (1%) Vitamin C 1.1mg (1%) Calcium 18mg (2%) Iron 0.6mg (3%)