Preheat oven to 425 F / 220 C.

Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Brush each side with olive oil, sprinkle generously with sea salt and a little pepper. Place on a baking sheet. Wrap garlic cloves in aluminum foil and add a teaspoon of olive oil. Place on the same baking sheet as eggplants. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn eggplants halfway through at 10-minute mark.

Let eggplants and garlic cool for 3-5 minutes until they are not too hot to handle. Then using a large spoon scoop out the middle flesh of the eggplant.

In a food processor, combine eggplant flesh, garlic cloves, cilantro, tahini, lemon juice, sea salt, and liquid smoke. Blend until everything is well combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Taste and add more salt if necessary. If you’d like a stronger smoky flavor, add another 1/4 tsp of liquid smoke and blend.

If you don’t have a food processor, use this method instead: Mash the eggplant flesh with roasted garlic with a fork. It will be easy to do since everything is cooked. In a separate bowl, whisk tahini and lemon juice until combined well. You don’t want any lumps in your tahini. If you’re working with cold tahini, microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften it a bit. Add tahini-lemon mixture to mashed eggplant and garlic. Add sea salt, chopped celery, and liquid smoke. Stir well.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.