A Spicy Bite with Middle Eastern Flair

Green Goo (horrible name!)

I realized the other day that it has been months since I last bombarded ya’ll with cooking experiments and offbeat details from my life.  Have I stopped cooking… never!  There would be mutiny among the many males in this household.  Think boys marching with a stick-impaled pig’s head à la Lord of the Flies!  But I diverge from the subject at hand…

Delicious food that happens to be healthy makes me really happy…   I’m thinking of all the goodness in chocolate, red wine and tomatoes!  The realization that became increasingly apparent in my search for the perfect balance of nutrition and tasty goodness is that many of the best flavors were developed by ancient cultures around the world… hence, the menagerie of ethnic flavors that I’ve included in this initial series.

The following scrumptious meal evolved from my desire to make a really good hummus with a bag of chick peas cluttering my pantry.  (Confession: I have been cooking almost totally based on the ingredients hanging out in my crowded kitchen in an effort to clean it out so I can justify my impulse purchasing of more ingredients that I have no idea how to use).  The recipe below is quite good and far superior to packaged hummus.  However, this recipe makes about 3+ cups… so I would suggest halving the ingredients unless you are feeding a large and hungry crowd.  And I would reduce the amount of tahini a bit, too.

Now, on to the adventurous part… to make the most heartwarming meal, you need to roll and grill your own pita bread.  I know...  I really do know all the reasons that store-bought pita would work better for you, but this is too fun and tasty to resist.  Not to mention the sweet yeasty aroma enveloping your home.  Glade can’t compete, I promise!

Hummus swirled with Green Goo

Hummus w/ Green Goo

From Insalata restaurant in San Anselmo, CA

HUMMUS:

            2 cups dried garbanzo beans (chick peas)

            ½ cup tahini (nut butter made from sesame seeds)

            ½ cup fresh lemon juice

            2 teaspoons salt

            1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

            1 cup reserved cooking water from beans

“GREEN GOO” TOPPING:

            ¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (the flat-leaf variety)

            1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper (about 1 pepper; discard seeds)

            2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (about 2-3 cloves)

            2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

            Salt & freshly-ground black pepper to taste

To make the hummus, cover the dried garbanzo beans in a large bowl with 6 cups of water for at least 3 hours or overnight.  Drain the soaked beans and transfer to a medium saucepan.  Add enough water so that level is at least two inches above beans.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook gently until very soft, about 45 minutes.  Make sure that the garbanzos are fully cooked and soft or you will have an undesirable coarse-textured hummus.  Drain the cooked beans.  Transfer the beans to the bowl of a food processor, and process with the lemon juice, salt and 1 cup of water until as smooth as possible.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the olive oil and tahini, and process again until completely smooth and creamy.  If the hummus is too thick, add a little more water.

To make the green goo, combine the parsley, jalapeno pepper, garlic and olive oil in a medium bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, drizzle the green goo over the hummus in a decorative bowl.  Serve at room temperature with soft or toasted pita bread or crudités.



Warm & Lovely Pita Bread



Pita Bread

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups warm water (105-115°)                   

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for griddle

2 ½ teaspoons (or 1 envelope) active dry yeast      

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon honey or barley malt syrup                  

 ½ cup wheat bran

1 ¼ teaspoons salt                                                    

 2 cups bread flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put the water in a large mixing bowl, stir in the yeast and honey, and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. 

Stir in the salt and olive oil, and then beat in the whole-wheat flour and bran until smooth.  Add the bread flour in small increments until the dough is too heavy to stir.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth supple dough, adding more flour as required.  Oil the mixing bowl and add the dough, turning to coat, then cover and set aside until doubled in bulk, 50 minutes to an hour.

Punch the dough down and divide into 10 pieces for 8-inch breads.  Roll each piece into a ball, and then cover them with a damp towel.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes, then roll each piece into a circle about ¼ inch thick.  Only roll the number of breads you can cook in one batch.  Don’t stack the rolled breads. Meanwhile warm the griddle or cast-iron skillet is warming over high heat. 

When hot, turn the heat to medium, and then brush a little oil over the surface.  Set circle(s) of dough on the surface and let sit for 30 seconds, and then turn it over.  Slowly bread should begin to puff.  You can encourage its puffing by gently pressing the bubbles to spread the hot air outward.  Once the bread has swollen, after a minute or two, turn it over to brown the top side- another minute or so.  Put the finished breads under a towel to keep warm.

Spicy Little Falafels!

Pita with Falafel & Lemony Yogurt Tahini Sauce

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

INGREDIENTS:

Prepared Falafel Mix (or make from scratch if you’re in a groove)           

Pita Bread                                                       2 ripe tomatoes, diced

Yogurt Tahini Sauce (below)                         Shredded lettuce

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make the falafel according to package instructions.  Spread a little of the sauce on a pita bread, then add the falafel, tomato and lettuce.  Drizzle more sauce over the top.

Serves 4-6





Yogurt Tahini Sauce (my favorite!!!)

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

INGREDIENTS:

1 garlic clove                                                  

1 cup plain yogurt (I used nonfat)

Salt                                                                 

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons Tahini                   

Grated zest of one lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pound the garlic and ¼ teaspoon of salt together to make a mushy paste.  Stir in the tahini, then gradually stir in the yogurt and lemon zest.  Season with lemon juice to taste… I used every drop and it was perfectly tangy which balances the spiciness of the falafel.  Enjoy, my friends!

Next up, I will be focusing on standby recipes every cook needs in their repertoires to whip up easy, delicious and healthy weekday meals for family and friends. 

Now, in the words of my soft-spoken sisters, “Tootle-loo, Blue Dogs!”