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Eggplant Walnut Dip Recipe

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Eggplant Walnut Dip is a heart healthy dip that is inspired by a traditional Georgian Eggplant and Walnut dish.

Eggplant Walnut Dip

Eggplant Walnut Dip inspired by a traditional Georgian dish

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about heart disease, the #1 killer of women, including how to best prevent heart disease, what a heart healthy diet looks like, and what makes nuts heart healthy. In that post, I shared a recipe for Georgian Spinach Walnut Balls, inspired by a feast on the eve of the Georgian New Year. This month, I’ve been adding walnuts to lots of dishes, including Braised Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts, Dark Chocolate Walnut Pomegranate Clusters, and the Eggplant Walnut Dip recipe that I am sharing today.

Walnuts happen to be one of the healthiest nuts around. Take a look:

  • Walnuts are heart healthy, helping to lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation. Reducing inflammation can help decrease the progress of arteriosclerosis, the development and build-up of plaque in the arteries.
  • Walnuts contain more ALA omega-3 fatty acids than any other nut, which help reduce the potential for heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and clinical depression.
  • Walnuts contain a high level of an unusual form of vitamin E (gamma-tocopherol) that has far more powerful anti-inflammatory actions than the alpha form.

The night of our Georgian feast, we dined on all sorts of dishes made with walnuts, including an appetizer simply called Eggplant with Walnut, which was pan-fried eggplant, stuffed with a mixture of ground walnuts and spices, and rolled up.

I wanted to try recreating this dish at home, but didn’t want to be bothered frying the eggplant, plus I wanted to make a healthier version if possible. I thought about baking the eggplant, but in the end made this Eggplant Walnut Dip with the spices and herbs that are used in the traditional Georgian eggplant and walnut dish.

I came across a post on Everyday Maven (which she actually found at Clean Green Simple) that had an interesting method for roasting eggplant on the stove. I was fascinated by the way the eggplant was charred over the gas stove, then put into a pot to finish cooking. Perfect for getting that smokiness of roasted eggplant without turning on the oven. I had bought mini eggplants from the Indian store, so they did not sit too easily on my gas burner. In fact, they fell into the crevices of the burner a few times and I had to rescue them from the flames. My boys thought I might set the house on fire. Next time, I will try using longer eggplant, perhaps Japanese eggplant.

This Eggplant Walnut Dip can be served with carrot sticks, celery sticks, toast, or sturdy crackers.

Eggplant Walnut Dip

Disclosure:  I was provided with samples of Nuts.com products for writing this post. However the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

For more heart healthy recipes, check out my Heart Healthy Recipes Pinterest board.

Eggplant Walnut Dip
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Eggplant and Walnut Dip

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 onion
  • 6 small eggplant or one regular eggplant or 2-3 Japanese eggplant
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 in strands saffron soaked a few teaspoons of water
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander toasted in a dry pan until fragrant
  • 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar or wine vinegar
  • salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro minced

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Saute onions over medium low heat until browned around the edges.
  2. Trim tops of eggplant. Cook eggplant over gas burner until all sides are browned, using tongs to turn the eggplant. Place in a cast iron pan and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat until tender, about 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the eggplant. Remove to a plate and let cool. Cut eggplant open and scrape out inside flesh. Place in food processor bowl.
  3. Add walnuts, garlic, saffron, coriander, fenugreek, cayenne pepper, vinegar and salt to eggplant. Process until smooth.
  4. Stir in sauteed onions and cilantro.

Sources/Information on Nuts and Heart Health:
Nuts and your health: Eating nuts for heart health, Mayo Clinic
Eating nuts promotes cardiovascular heart, Harvard Health Publications
Nuts! Heart Healthy Tips, University of Massachusets Medical School
Walnuts May Be Top Nut For Heart Health, WebMd.com
Why You Should Go Nuts For Nuts, Everyday Health
Nuts for Heart Healthy Diet, Smart Heart Living
What Are The Best Heart Healthy Nuts, Healthy Heart Meditation
6 Snack Combos with Heart Healthy Nuts, Health.com
Going Nuts: Georgetown’s Thomas Sherman on Heart-Healthy Nuts, Washingtonian
Walnuts Are Top Nut For Heart-Healthy Antioxidants, Science Daily
If You Are Nuts About Health Try The Top 6 Healthiest Nuts, SixWise.com

Georgian Eggplant Walnut Recipes:
Eggplant and Walnut, Besiki Sisauri’s Web Site
Georgian Eggplant with Walnuts, MyRecipes.com
Georgian Eggplant with Walnut, Cook Eat Share
Walnut Stuffed Eggplant Rolls, Food Perestroika

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Comments

  1. Sue/the view from great island says

    Great giveaway— I would love to win the Black Walnuts, I keep hearing about how wonderful they are. Your dip looks amazing, and the ingredients are so unusual, I can’t remember the last time I used fenugreek!

    Reply

    • Jeanette says

      Black walnuts are unusual. They are stronger tasting than regular walnuts, and I actually preferred the black walnuts to regular walnuts when I made some dark chocolate walnut pomegranate clusters for Valentine’s Day.

      Reply

  7. claudia says

    I am loving this dip – but no gas burner so must roast in oven which is not fatal. I was going to make an eggplant recipe this eve but they did not look great – so will save this for when some decent eggplants enters my world again.

    Reply

  10. Kristen says

    GREAT recipe. I have an eggplant sitting in the kitchen that I was wondering what to do with… how perfect! Nuts.com is wonderful! I have ordered from them several times and love their quality. I would have to go with the raw Hazelnuts, no shell (I have some nut buttters to make!!)

    Reply

  20. Kristina says

    well, I would always choose cashews, because I snack on them daily and use them in cooking a lot.

    THIS looks SO good… I love eggplant and new ways to use it – I will be making this, I already have walnuts. thanks for the information about them, too.

    Reply

  22. Bette Jane says

    This is the ideal snack! I truly love all nuts. They serve so many purposes; as garnish, desserts, snacks, meals! It’s difficult to pick just one kind, but cashew nuts would be really nice to have for all their wonderful vegan uses!

    Reply

  28. Ree says

    Would love to win raw cashews. Love making smooth cashew cream as a substitute for cheese since I’m vegan. Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  32. juniakk @ mis pensamientos says

    the eggplant walnut dip sounds DELICIOUS! i love mixing roasted veggies with nuts! i make a roasted red pepper cashew dip and it was so addicting.

    i would love to win CHESTNUTS because they are out of season/stock at my supermarket. 🙂

    Reply

  35. jacquie says

    wonderful giveaway – i love nuts of all type. in looking at the website i came across roasted walnuts and as i don’t think i have ever had those think i would try them.

    Reply

  37. Kerry says

    I’d choose pine nuts! I use them in lots of recipes. This dip looks amazing btw. Love eggplant in everything and anything!

    Reply

  43. Gems says

    Hi Jeanette,
    I was looking at your healthy pantry list and wondered where you like to shop? I try to buy organic as much as possible. Have you mastered the organic but not break the bank shopping yet…I have yet to do it as well as I’d like.
    Thanks,
    Katy

    Reply

    • Jeanette says

      I shop at all different stores, and now that many regular grocers carry good fresh produce, I often shop there since the prices for organic products are less expensive than specialty stores. In the summer, I join an organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which is less expensive than buying organic produce from the store. Organic produce is expensive so I focus on buying organic on the dirty dozen list (http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214).

      Reply

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