Hummus & Tahini, Revisited May 26, 2010

I love to make fresh hummus and since I’ve already posted about this, I’ve decided to repost but with my recipe.

• Soak garbanzo beans at least 7 hours and simmer 2.5 hrs. (I usually soak the beans in the morning, then cook them when I get home from work)

• Pick up favorite baguette on way home (me: Ken’s Artisan Bakery makes a sensational baguette with a crunchy exterior and soft interior…plus it’s fresssssssh)

• Make some tahini:  sesame seeds + dash of sea salt + food processor

• In food processor combine until desired consistency:

1 heaping Tbl. tahini

1.5 cups cooked garbanzo beans (use canned if you must)

5 cloves garlic (to taste, of course)

5 tbl Kalamata Olive Oil

sea salt to taste

2 tbl H2O

I often vary between a chunky and a fluffy-creamy hummus, depending on my present culinary temperament.  The longer you process, the fluffier and creamier it gets.  I also like to garnish with fresh roasted garlic (seen here), beans, and sesame seeds and extra virgin olive oil.  Nummy.

I paired this with a 2009 Rendez-Vous Beaujolais Nouveau (thanks Deano).  Now, I must be honest here and admit that I really don’t care for this wine by itself BUT paired with the garlicky hummus is very nice.  ’Nuff Said.

Ah, Pizzettas! May 8, 2010

From yesterday’s pizza dough I made cute little pizzettas in tartlet pans:

Pesto, Tomato & Raclette du haut Livradois*

Spinach, Walnut, Garlic & Marinara

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For the pesto, process until desired consistency:

1 bunch fresh basil

3/4 cups pecans (or whatever nut you like)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

5 cloves garlic

3/4 cups Kalamata olive oil

Vegan Pecan Pesto

* Raclette Description :

Produced in both Switzerland and France, Raclette takes its name from the French verb “racler”, meaning “to scrape.” Traditionally, Alpine cheesemakers would lunch upon boiled potatoes and cornichons, covered with melted cheese scraped from a rock near the smoldering fire. Raclette is a semi-soft pressed cheese, made of raw cows’ milk and washed with brine to impart a deep, fruity pungency. True to its name, it melts beautifully and can be scraped atop all manner of root vegetables for a winter supper.

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Raclette du haut Livradois is from Livradois, France

Little Sesame Seed & Rosemary Breads of Joy May 7, 2010

I found some pre-made whole wheat pizza dough at Trader Joe’s (swear I don’t work there) and thought, hmmmm…I can do a lot with this!

Thought I’d make a pretzel.  Nope, didn’t work—too stretchy shrinky.  I’ll have to do that one from scratch some other time.

So what I did do, and do well if I may say so, is make little breads.  Since it was pizza dough the breads were dense, but that’s not a bad thing!

I decided to make 2 little loaves:  Black and White Sesame Seed and Rosemary:

I chose rosemary because I had some Pecorino Toscano cheese that I knew would pair well with it, and after consulting with Deano (mentioned in an earlier post, aka the KING of all things wine), I (we) decided to keep the Italian theme by choosing a 2008 Caravaggio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. I understand that a Beaujolais or a Chianti Riserva would also pair well with the cheese.

I also made an olive oil concoction with rosemary and black volcanic salt for dipping.  Delicious and oh-so-simple.

Black Tahini of DOOM April 28, 2010

Sourdough boule broiled with olive oil & sea salt, basil leaf and black tahini.

Looks strange–tastes good!  It is a very strong-tasting experience and the color is disconcerting when eating it, but I will say it is quite good as long as you add another strong flavor, such as the basil leaf.  Worked very nicely together.

Black Tahini:  black sesame seeds + food processor.

Hummus and black bean dip April 28, 2010

I’ve been making a lot of hummus lately since I got my nifty (and cute) 4 cup Cuisinart food processor. Also making my own tahini but have yet to get a food picture.  Going to be doing a lot more grinding experiments soon!

Canapés galore April 28, 2010

Multi-seed baguette from Trader Joe’s,  broiled with olive oil and:

top left: black mission fig, walnut and shropshire blue cheese (yellow stilton)

top right: fresh pico de gallo topped with micro greens

middle left: homemade basil/walnut/garlic pesto, made chunky, topped with tomato

middle right: chunky garlic hummus, chive, cucumber

bottom: basil leaf, roasted garlic, olive oil/Herbes de Provence marinated mozzarella