Sunday, January 20, 2013

Rosie Is In A Hummus Kind Of Mood.


Middle Hawthorne is home
and I noticed he'd gone to the Teeter
and picked up a tub of hummus.

Oh my.
That just won't do.

The Boy is a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine
and helped me taste-test along
as we developed this recipe.
And if I thought Mr. Hawthorne was impatient
with my picture-taking during food preparation,
Tree, meet Apple.

Rosie's and Middle Hawthorne's Hummus

1 1/3 cups cooked chickpeas  (2/3 cup dried chickpeas)
1/3 cup tahini
2 TB lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
8 TB olive oil, not extra virgin
1/4 cup cold water

Cook the chickpeas:
 2/3 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

All dried bean recipes call for soaking the beans overnight. When I want a bean dish, I want it now.  I don't want to wait until the next day when who knows if I'll want beans at all.

So, I rinse my beans, put them in a pan of cold water, bring it to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Whenever I cook beans, after about 20 minutes of simmering, I rinse the beans off and refresh the water. Put the beans back in cold fresh water, bring to boil, reduce to simmer until al dente. 

Point 1:  Mr. Hawthorne has told me NOT to salt my bean water.  According to whomever he was watching on Food Network, salting the water causes the skins to separate from the beans and make them look a bit scraggly.

This refreshing of the water, according to Julia, reduces the "intestinal motility" associated with beans.  For the garbanzas, I wanted to cook them past al dente since I'll be pureeing this.  I cooked the chickpeas for 60 minutes.  Drain and let cool.

Now please pay attention because the next step is apparently crucial for a proper hummus.   According to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen blogdom, the chickpeas must be peeled. Apparently, this technique makes all the difference in the world with the texture of the final hummus. With the pointy end facing your palm, pinch the pea between thumb and next two fingers and pinch until the pea pops out of the skin into the bowl.

Point 2:  Salt the water.  I wanted to make it easier to peel the chickpeas.


Make the tahini:
Toast 1/2 cup sesame seeds until lightly brown.
Process, adding 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time.
I wouldn't use extra virgin olive oil with this.  It would overpower the delicate, nutty flavor of the sesame seeds.

Process the ingredients:
In a processor combine cooked chickpeas and tahini paste.  Process.  Add in lemon juice, minced garlic, salt, and olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, processing throughout.  Add in cold water.  Process.

To serve:
Sprinkle with cumin and cayenne pepper.  Drizzle a little olive oil over top. Serve with pita points, which I will be making next.

Now for the step by steps:
I added in 1/2 cup of sesame seeds
to a dry iron skillet.
Swirl pan over medium heat
until seeds are nicely toasted and golden brown.
Wait for the aroma to release
then be careful so they don't burn.
One needs to pay attention when toasting nuts and seeds.
Things can go downhill in a heartbeat.


Let cool.



Then process with olive oil until you get the proper consistency.
I topped with a few toasted sesame seeds.



Peel the chickpeas.

Tip:  If you're having a problem
popping the peas out of the skins,
hold a paper towel and pop them.
The skin sticks to the paper towel.

Ingredient for hummus:
1 1/3 cup cooked chick peas 
(Approximately 2/3 cup dried.)
1/3 cup tahini
2 TB lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
8 TB olive oil
(I use ELBOO - Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil.)
1/4 cup cold water

Process the chickpeas with the tahini.



I'm doing this in my Blue Ninja,
which is too big for the amount of beans
I'm trying to process.
I really need to get one for smaller quantities.
I have a mini-Cuisinart but that still doesn't do the job.

I kept adding olive oil,
a tablespoon (8 TB) at a time
and 1/4 cup cold water
until the Boy approved the consistency.

I drizzled a little olive oil
and sprinkled some cumin and cayenne flakes on top.

My hummus is nothing like
Smitten Kitchen's "ethereally smooth hummus,"
but it's pretty darn good.

It's not even the same color.
SK's hummus is truly "ethereally smooth" and beautiful,
but my hummus has texture to it, which I like.
I don't know how SK got that texture.
Maybe I should be using Rancho Gordo,
as recommended in SmittenKitchen.
Or maybe I should get a better mini-processor.

Mr. Hawthorne said it was the best hummus he's had.
Most hummus he's had has been bland
and he liked the flavors in this.
 Boy liked it too.
Rosie liked it three.

Now, I'm off to make pita bread.

Next post:  PITA!




5 comments:

Lori K said...

I love hummus..and I like my chunky!!!
Go Rosie

Lori K said...

mine...oops

Rosie Hawthorne said...

I like the texture too, Lori.

Anonymous said...

Try it with dried lima beans sometime

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Interesting, Anony. Never heard of that.