Roasted Aubergine (Eggplant) Dip

"When I'm short of time, dips play a big part in my diet. A quick snack is dips with crackers or crudités. A quick lunch is dips with crackers and crudités. A quick, tired, lazy dinner is dips with crackers, crudites and leftovers. This aubergine dip will slot in nicely. I've called it an aubergine dip rather than baba ghanoush because, although the ingredients are similar, I don't ask you to smoke the aubergines – a process I find difficult, and frankly a bit of a lost cause, in a kitchen without a coal barbecue. I've also used sumac instead of the cumin or paprika traditional in baba ghanoush. Sumac is one of my favourite spices. Made from dried and ground red sumac berries, it has a luxurious scarlet colour and suprisingly sour, citrus flavour. It's more widely available now, too, probably thanks to the influence of Yotam Ottolenghi. Whenever I use it, I think of a birthday card made for me by an old friend. The day before my birthday she asked what is my favourite spice. The next day I received a lovely hand-drawn card with some stick-figures dancing in a circle, captioned "sumac'in me crazy". Now, I don't want to make this post about spice-related puns, but maybe you'll give me a little thyme of day? Bayleaf me, this won't last long. Some encourage mint would be nice, but I try not to pepper my readers with too many jokes. Serve this dip in a wide bowl with plenty of warm toasted pita bread. Be quick – the first scoops will catch the garnish. I hope I haven't scared you off with my puns – but I know you'll soon be cumin back for more. 3 large aubergines (eggplants) 1 medium clove garlic, crushed or grated 1 medium lemon, juice of ½ tsp fine salt 1 tsp sumac 2 tbsp tahini (optional - to make a more substantial dip - reduce olive oil by 1 tbsp if using) 45ml/3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley."