3 posts tagged “hummus”

Yeah, so earlier in the week I had posted about staring at Peter’s (of Kalofagas) delicious Eggs Benedict recipe…Staring at Peter’s recipes is nothing new for me.  His site is a daily read.  He has a wonderful sense of humor, and is a phenomenal cook.  You should SEE some of the delicious things he cooks up!  He is of Greek descent, and, luckily for us, he shares his mouthwatering recipes, and the fun stories of Greece and his heritage that go along with them.  Not too long ago he had posted his recipe for Cheese Stuffed Keftides (couldn’t you just *die* at how good those sound?)…well, I knew I had to put those on the menu.  I mean, Come ON!  Keftides?  Stuffed with Cheese?  I may have fainted into my keyboard.  Actually, I’m pretty sure I did, because I had these weird square bruises on my forehead. This week, I could wait no more.  Monday I bought the ingredients to make his hellaciously good recipe. 

I’m not going to post Peter’s recipe, because I actually followed it pretty much to the letter…I had to substitute Gouda cheese (see it trying to escape there? lol) for the Greek cheese, though, since I can’t get the types he recommended for the recipe.

To go along with these delicious morsels of Greek joy, I decided to make a fresh tzatziki (pictured here) and hummus (pictured below).

The hummus was an excellent dip for both the keftides and the pitas.  I tell you, this is perfect summer food, you guys. The next time you plan on grilling plain old burgers? Forget that idea, and make these instead! Seriously, they are amazing.

For the tzatziki and hummus recipes, please visit: http://canarygirl.com/?p=182

Yesterday we had Middle Eastern food yet again....This time I made samosas and falafel, with a side of hummus, a tomato and cucumber salad with greek yogurt and homemade onion and parsley pitas.  The samosas were excellent, (and easy thanks to my new toy!) the falafel, not so much...it was lacking flavor, and the texture was off.  They were far too dense...like little hockey pucks with sesame coating. :P LOL  Does anyone have a tried and true recipe to share with me?  I need help in the falafel department!  While in the U.S. my organic grocer carried these wonderful box mixes for falafel (Near East brand, maybe?), so I never really had to make them from scratch until now....my attempts have gone from disasterous to less than perfect....I'm improving, but am open to any and all suggestions, please! :)  TIA! :)  See, that's what makes cooking fun, I think...trying new things, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't...sometimes mistakes are a blessing, and you come up with something fabulous that you may not have otherwise thought of...Other times we try our best to get something right to no avail.  I say, "Fuggedabaddit!" and just have fun, regardless. :)

samosas

1 comment

Ingredients:

1  lb ground beef (or lamb, or a combination of beef and lamb) 

1  tablespoon olive oil 

1  small onion, minced 

1  clove garlic, mashed 

 salt and pepper 

juice from 1 lemon

1/2  cup water 

2  teaspoons garam masala 

1 small bunch of mint, chopped (or about 2-3 tablespoons dried)
 
1  tablespoon cumin 

1/4  cup pine nuts 

wonton or dumpling wrappers (the amount varies depending on how full you fill your samosas, but about 25) 

oil (for frying) 

Preparation: 

Heat oil in a fairly large skillet.

Brown garlic and onions a bit (3-4 minutes or until translucent).

Add beef, season with salt and pepper to taste, and brown.

Drain off excess grease.

Add lemon juice, water, garam masala, mint, and cumin.

Stir to combine and simmer until liquid has mostly evaporated.

Add pine nuts and stir to combine.

Cook 2 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Fill pastry with meat mixture, and seal edges by moistening the edges with water and pinching the edges together (or get a super cool pastry press and save yourself a lot of time!).
 
Heat oil over medium heat.

Brown the samosas for about 3-4 minutes per side, until golden.

Drain on paper towels.

Samosas may be frozen either before or after deep frying.

If freezing before, thaw and then deep fry as above.

If freezing after frying, thaw and reheat in 350º oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.

I'm going to go ahead and post a pic of the falafel anyway, even though it didn't turn out that great...We all make mistakes in the kitchen...the key is to learn from them.  Becoming a great cook isn't about perfection, it's about trial and error, getting your hands dirty, making a mess and just having fun.  So, what the heck.  I'll share my mistakes too. ;) :)

hockey puck falafel

Here in Las Palmas, we have this great little Lebanese restaurant, called "Monte Líbano" that Alvaro and I just love to go to...One of our favorite things to order is the shawarma, which I've tried to recreate here.....but I think it still needs some work.  The restaurant's version is sweeter...I don't know if it's the amount of onions, or if it's something else that is added, but consider this one a work in progress.  The pics turned out purty though, so I'll post anyway. lol  (update: Alvaro said it was great the way it was...I still say that it needs more onion and less lemon ;) ) The hummus and lebne are regular features at our house...any sort of Middle Eastern cuisine is generally welcome at our table.  So here you have it; Chicken Shawarma, Hummus and Mixed Lebne. (**warning: photo overload post***)

chicken shawarma2

Chicken Shawarma Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken, sliced into very thin strips

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 small lemon (about1/4 cup)

1 tablespoon curry powder

3 tablespoons minced red onion

salt and pepper to taste

sumac to taste

Shredded lettuce, minced red onion and diced tomato (for salad bed for chicken)

flatbread of choice for wrapping (in this instance I just used flour tortillas, but naan or pitas work great too)

Preparation:

Whisk together garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, curry, onion, and seasonings in a bowl.

Add chicken and toss to coat with marinade.

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or even better, overnight.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.

If you want, add some oil for sauteeing,  but it's not really necessary if your pan is nonstick.

Sautee quickly, tossing and stirring until nicely browned and cooked through.

Serve over a bed of shredded lettuce, red onion and diced tomato.

hummus

Hummus Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 jar garbanzo beans (16 oz), mostly drained

2-3 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons tahini

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Preparation:

Using a food processor, mince garlic first, then add garbanzos and process until semi-smooth.

Add tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and continue to process until creamy.

*If mixture still seems a bit thick, add a tablespoon or two of water to help it along.

lebne mixto

Mixed Lebne Recipe:

Ingredients:

10 oz plain yogurt (this time I used fat free, and it worked just fine), drained overnight, over a sieve lined with paper towels or a tea towl placed atop a bowl to collect the liquid.

1/3 cup finely chopped cucumber, also drained well

5-10 mint leaves, minced

garlic powder to taste

salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

chicken shawarma3

To make shawarma, spread hummus over a wrap (or naan, or pita), fill with chicken, and add salad ingredients and hummus. 

Roll up like you would a burrito.

Serve Lebne on the side.