Baba Ganoush

Randomly prick eggplants with a fork. Rub eggplants with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, put them on a foil-lined jelly roll pan (with edges) and bake in a 375° oven for 45 minutes, rotating them every 15 minutes.

While eggplants bake, lightly brown 1/4 cup pine nuts in a heavy-ish non-oiled pan over medium-high heat. Once the pine nuts start to brown, remove them immediately from the pan and place into a bowl to cool.

After the eggplants are cooked and cooled, slice them in half and scoop the pulp into a food processor. Pulse it a few times until eggplant is evenly chopped. Add 1/4 cup tahini, the juice from 2 lemons, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of salt, three shakes (or more to taste) of pepper sauce and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Pulse the mixture a couple of times in the food processor to combine eggplant and spices. Put the Baba Ganoush into a serving dish and serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold. Just before serving, garnish dip with roasted pine nuts, chopped cilantro (optional) and drizzle with the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil.