Hummus

Hummus is a middle eastern dip composed of tahini, chick peas, lemon juice, and salt which are mashed together or pureed using a food processor. It is a thick dip which is usually accompanied by pita bread. The main ingredient for this dish, aside from the chick peas, is tahini. Tahini is a ground sesame paste which is common ingredients for dishes in the Middle East, East Asia, and North Africa.

This hummus recipe is very tasty and flavorful. If you have never tried making your own hummus dip, you should try this one. Store-bought ones does not even compare to this. I have been buying hummus dip for a long time and never really thought about making my own until I decided to make it one day. Well, I have never gone back to buying them from the store ever again. This dish is super simple and easy. Instead of boiling the chick peas yourself, I buy canned oned which makes my work easier and I can have the dip in no time at all.



Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz.) Chickpeas
1/3 cup chickpeas water
4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Tahini
2 cloves garlic, chopped
sea salt, to taste

Garnish:
few pieces of the chick peas
paprika
extra virgin olive oil
pine nuts



1. Place all the ingredients for hummus (chichpeas, chickpeas water, lemon juice, tahini, garlic and sea salt) in a food processor and pureed until well incorporated.
2. Taste and adjust salt according to taste.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with olive oil, chickpeas, paprika, and pine nuts.
4. Serve with pitabread or pita chips.

No Knead Pita Bread

I went to the store yesterday with the original intention of buying pita bread since I am making hummus today. But, of course, I would not be me if I did not forget the very thing I went to the store toget. In short, I forgot to buy pita bread. I made a list before I headed out but left the list on the table so I had to make a mental list on my way to Ralph's. When I got there, I just had to stop at Ross to check out their stocks of plates, bowls, etc...like I really need anymore of these things...hehehe...I went and got a few pieces (of course!) but they are really cheap since their items are mostly overruns, past season, and surplus from the department stores. BY the time I got to Ralph's my mental list has long been forgotten so I had to go from one aisle to another trying to remember what I needed. Hahaha...that was a joke because before I knew it, stuff kept piling on my cart. When I was in the fruit section, I remembered that I needed to pick up pita bread which was located on the other end of the store. I walked all the way there but for the life of me I could not remember what I went there for...lol...old age? dementia? huh!! I was in the garage parking the car when I remembered that I forgot to pick up PITA BREAD!!! Well, I wasn't about to turn around and go back to the store. Instead,I decided tomake my own.

Pita bread recipe is very simple. YOu just need a few ingredients which you will mix then leave to let it do its thing overnight. When morning comes, your dough will be ready. Pita bread belongs to the flat bread category with its signature pocket. It is common in the middle eastern countries. Pita is used to scoop dips such as hummus and used to wrap falafel, kebabs or gyrus. It is usually baked at a high temperature to make the rbead puff up and create the pockets.

NOTE: I used the same principles used by the authors of the book Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day


Ingredients

3 cups fliur
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix yeast, salt, sugar, water, and olive oil in a mixing bowl.
2. Add flour and mix thoroughly
3. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest on room temp for 1-2 hours.
4. Refrigerate overnight.
6. Take out the dough after resting in the efrigerator overnignt.
7. Place in a lightly floured surface. Four you hand well also.
8. Take the dough and fold it over itself twice or three time. Cover with plastci wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
9. Once dough has cooled down, shape it into a log and divide into 8 equal sizes.
10.Roll each into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes.
11. Preheat your oven to 475 t0 500 degrees with the rack at the lowest position. Preheat you baking dish for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
12. Once oven and baking dish has been preheated, take a piece of the dough, flatten then roll out into a 8 inch flat round.
13. Take your baking dish ut of the oven and placed you pita bread. (NOTE: be careful as the baking pan will be extremely hot) Bake two at a time.
14. Bake for 3-4 minutes. By the end of the four minutes, the dough would have puffed up.
15. Turn the bread over and bake the other side for another 3-4 minutes or until light golden brown in color.
16. Take out of the oven and serve with hummus.