Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a small saucepan, warm the olive oil to medium hot. Add the garlic cloves and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes or until soft.
3. Turn half way through the cooking time. Remove garlic from the oil and allow to cool. Reserve the oil.
4. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and make 1/2-inch deep scoring cuts in a cross hatch pattern in the cut side of each eggplant half. Drizzle the cut side of the eggplant with the reserved olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
5. Place eggplant halves cut side down in a shallow dish and bake in preheated oven until tender, about 1 hour.
6. When cool, scoop out the flesh and place into a food processor, discarding the skins. Add any olive oil from the bottom of the baking dish.
7. Squeeze the garlic flesh out of its skins into the food processor. Add garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, and ground cumin. Process until smooth. Pulse in the chopped parsley.
8. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve with pita chip and/or crudites.