Beyond Ultimate Hummus

I'm editing this recipe because if you use canned garbanzo beans you can't control the sodium level and you don't know how much salt is in the can.  Therefore, I can only recommend making hummus from dry garbanzo beans that you soak and cook yourself.

Hummus decorated with kalamata olives and homemade oven-dried tomatoes.

I know I've posted about hummus a couple of times already. I'm kinda addicted to it. I've been trying to perfect the recipe and get a really smooth and creamy result. Well, my hubby watches some funny/interesting youtube videos made by this crazy, foul-mouthed Canadian cooking guy. We saw his videos about making hummus and I learned the secret for making the best, creamiest hummus. The secret is removing the skins from the garbanzo beans/chickpeas.

If you want to check out the youtube videos, here are the links. Warning, these videos are definitely NSFW (not safe for work) and not for anyone offended by adult language. Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZoRNfGgZM0 Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdu3xTbHHJg

If you're going to the trouble of making the perfect hummus recipe, why not do it all the way, and use dry garbanzo beans. It's super affordable and it's not at all difficult to start with dried beans. You just have to plan ahead.

This recipe will make about 3 cups of hummus:

1 1/2 cups dry garbanzo beans/chickpeas
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
6 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons garlic, pressed through a garlic press or finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil (use more or less to achieve the texture you like)

The day before you plan to serve the hummus, rinse and sort the garbanzo beans. Cover them with plenty of water (they'll swell to almost twice their size) and soak for 12-24 hours.

The next day drain off the soaking water. Put garbanzos in a heavy-bottomed pot with 2-3 quarts of water and the baking soda. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a very low boil and cook until you see a lot of the skins starting to come off of the beans. Be sure to check and stir the beans at least every 30 minutes while they cook, adding water if necessary. The cooking time varies greatly depending on how fresh your garbanzos are.

When you see lots of garbanzo skins floating in the cooking water, but while the garbanzos are still intact, remove from heat, drain beans and add cold water. Continue to drain and add cold water until the beans are cool enough to handle in the water. With your hands, swish the beans around in the water and rub the beans to get the skins to come off. Remove the skins from the water. The more skins you remove, the smoother and creamier your hummus will be. This step takes a little time, but it's so worth it for the smooth-as-silk finished product.

Return the beans to the stove with a small amount of water, just enough to cover the beans, and add the chicken bouillon cubes. Gently stir and simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated and the beans are falling apart. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature, then pour the garbanzos and any remaining cooking water into a food processor.  Add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and cayenne. Process until very smooth. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the hummus reaches the consistency you want.  As you drizzle the olive oil, the mixture will sort of emulsify, similar to making mayonnaise, and the consistency will change and become creamier.

Transfer the hummus to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and/or cumin or paprika if desired.  Serve with kalamata olives and pita chips, veggie sticks, or crackers.

A Very Merry WHITE Christmas

Okay, so I'm 45 years old and I've lived in the DFW Metroplex or not too far from it my entire life. Around here we're more likely to have shorts-and-short-sleeve weather at Christmas time than cold weather. Well, this year I experienced my first ever white Christmas!!! It started snowing here on Christmas Eve afternoon and the weather was cold enough that the snow was still on the ground on Christmas Day. It was such a beautiful experience, and since I'm statistically probably halfway through my life it's not really likely that I'll experience another White Christmas, so I cherish this amazing holiday.

Due to the weather we were "snowbound" for the night at the home of my beloved Mami-y-Papi-in-law after our Christmas Eve celebration, so I had another fun experience for the first time of waking up with my "extended family" and enjoying Christmas morning with all of TLOML's family, my stepdaughters, and my son. I'll treasure this day for the rest of my life.

So now on to the food. For Christmas Eve with my second family and for Christmas Day with my first family we prepared Roasted Rosemary Walnuts, courtesy of a recipe from http://www.chowhound.com/, www.chow.com/recipes/14260?tag=nl.e351:

Roasted Rosemary Walnuts Recipe
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 25 mins
Active: 5 mins
Makes: 8 to 10 servings (5 cups)

Roasted Rosemary Walnuts
By Amy Wisniewski

Nuts and booze are a tried-and-true combination for any happy hour or cocktail party. Here the addition of rosemary and black pepper classes up the combo without getting too fussy.

Game plan: These nuts will last up to 10 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

This recipe was featured as part of both our Academy Awards Cocktail Party menu and our Bar Snacks photo gallery.

INGREDIENTS
5 cups walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Place nuts on a baking sheet. Add remaining ingredients and mix with your hands to evenly coat.
Bake until nuts are browned and toasted, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet, transfer to a bowl, and serve.

These incredible tidbits and also the following wonderful Kahlua Spiked Pecans (recipe from www.desertculinary.blogspot.com/) http://desertculinary.blogspot.com/2005/05/kahlua-spiked-pecans.html were big hits.

I think the rosemary walnuts were slightly too oily and I'll decrease the amount of olive oil next time I make them. However, both of these treats were like holiday crack to me and I think to both of our families, absolutely fabulous recipes.

Kahlua Spiked Pecans (Adapted from Stop and Smell the Rosemary)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white
3 tablespoons Kahlua
4 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and Kahlua. Add pecans and stir well to combine.

Sprinkle half the sugar mixture on top - mix well. Pour the rest of the sugar on top and stir until completely combined. Scoop the mixture onto a large baking sheet lined with foil and coated with nonstick spray. Spread the pecans to an even single layer.

Bake until pecans are lightly toasted and browned, stirring every 10 minutes - about 20 to 25 minutes total. Remove from the oven and scoop the hot pecans onto wax or parchment paper to cool completely.

Note: I used half white sugar and half brown sugar because I had a dab of brown sugar that needed to be used up and it worked perfectly.

We prepared the black bean dip we've made before, recipe courtesy of Erica at http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/, http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/2009/06/black-bean-dip-dip-de-frijoles-negros.html . Everyone loves this stuff!

Black Bean Dip (Dip De Frijoles Negros)

Although it doesn’t look very pretty, this creamy black bean dip tastes absolutely delicious and is very easy to make. You can serve it with tortilla chips or Patacones.

Ingredients(About 2 cups)
1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo
½ tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions
1. Place all the ingredients in food processor until the dip is smooth and creamy, scraping the down the bowl as needed.
2. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

This dip is so, so good, and so healthy! As Erica says, it's not so pretty, but damn, it's tasty! I made it again with dried beans that I soaked and cooked, just because that's very inexpensive and we really enjoy preparing food from scratch as much as possible.

We also made a wonderful white bean-roasted red pepper dip, recipe also courtesy of www.mycolombiankitchen.com/

White Bean -Roasted Pepper Dip

I love beans! In Colombia we may eat beans two or three times a day. I never get tired of eating beans so I have a long list of bean recipes. This one is a delicious white bean –roasted pepper dip. It is great as a light and healthy snack with pita chips, as an appetizer for your next party or for that unannounced visit, as it is quick and simple to prepare!

Ingredients
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans
1 roasted red bell pepper
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped onion
Chives for garnish

Directions
1. Place all the ingredients in the food processor and mix until well combined and smooth.
2. Transfer the dip to a serving dish and top with the fresh chives. Serve with pita chips on the side

I used a can of rosada beans for this dip because I had one on hand, and it was really good.

We made the Cook's Illustrated hummus recipe again, with a few modifications, http://kearbyskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/10/homemade-hummus.html This time we made a double recipe and used a little more garlic, a little more olive oil, a little less sesame tahini, and 2 cubes of Knorr chicken bouillon. It turned out really good.

Also made the stuffed mushrooms that I've been making for 25 years that everyone seems to like. Recipe to be posted later.

And in other important Christmas Eve news, SMU defeated Nevada 45-10 in the Hawaii Bowl!

Homemade Hummus

There's a long list of foods I want to learn to make from scratch which are foods that are normally purchased ready-made. High on that list is hummus, the delicious, healthy Middle Eastern dip that's often served with pita bread. Tonight I made up a batch for a family birthday lunch this weekend. It came out really good. I think it'll be even better tomorrow after the flavors have a chance to blend.

I made the Ultimate Hummus version. If you're cooking from scratch might as well go all the way, right? I didn't reserve any chickpeas for garnish or chop any cilantro or parsley for garnish. I do plan to drizzle the hummus with olive oil and garnish with a few Kalamata olives for serving. I've had this presentation in restaurants and find it very tasty.

When I finished processing all the ingredients, I was struck by the thought that this is very much like a mayonnaise in composition. To the pureed chickpeas you add a lemon juice mixture and then drizzle in an oil mixture and the whole thing emulsifies and the texture and color change. I'm always fascinated by the science of food.

Enjoy!


Recipe from the May/June 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated.


RESTAURANT-STYLE HUMMUS
(Makes about 2 cups)

We recommend Joyva or Krinos tahini and Pastene chickpeas [Kearby's note: their next recommendation is Goya chickpeas, which are pretty easy to find]. The hummus can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 5 days. If you do not plan on serving it immediately, refrigerate the hummus and garnishes separately. When ready to serve, stir in approximately 1 tablespoon of warm water if the texture is too thick.

3 tablespoons juice from 1 to 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro or parsley leaves

1. Combine lemon juice and water in small bown or measuring cup. Whisk together tahini and 2 tablespoons oil in second small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside 2 tablespoons chickpeas for garnish.
2. Process remaining chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add oil-tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved chickpeas and cilantro over surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

ULTIMATE HUMMUS

Pick through and rinse 1/2 cup dried chickpeas. Place beans in large bowl, cover with 1 quart water, and soak overnight. Drain. Bring beans, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 quart water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup bean cooking water, and cool. Continue with recipe for Restaurant-Style Hummus, replacing tap water with cooking water.