Jun

7

Hummus with crudités

June 7, 2009 |

Hummus is a Middle Eastern specialty commonly served together with a variety of appetizers, dips, salads at the beginning of a festive meal and they are called mezze or meze.
The dip is now known worldwide and it’s eaten accompanied with fresh or toasted pita bread or fresh vegetables. It’s a great snack or appetizer even if I often eat it as a main course with fresh vegetables. It’s very healthy and tasty and I never tire of it.

The first time I ate it was about 12 years ago when a take out Syrian restaurant opened in Verona. It was a small family restaurant the first of its kind in the city. They made pita bread from scratch and all the dishes were well selected and lovingly prepared. Unfortunately the restaurant didn’t take off and after awhile they closed. I’m still dreaming about those dishes: kebabs with falafel balls, hummus or Baba Ghannoouj and other appetizers whose names I unfortunately don’t remember. They were particular to me because they used unusual ingredients like pomegranate juice to season the meat or a yogurt garlic sauce to add in the kebabs. I’m pretty sure that in Milan, Rome or in other larger Italian cities I could find the similar dishes, but then that is too far to go for lunch.  In the meantime I’ll try to make my own sometimes with success and sometimes not, and sooner or later I’m sure the restaurant I’m looking for will open again here in Verona.

I found this hummus recipe by chance when following the South Beach Diet. I made it and after few changes to adapt the recipe to my own needs and tastes I reached the result I was hoping for: well blended and balanced flavors. I especially like its nutty flavor due to the tahini sauce or sesame paste, an indispensable ingredient that can not be substituted or omitted otherwise you’ll end up with a hummus that will definitely lack in flavor. I prefer to add one clove of garlic but you can either skip it or increase the quantity up to 2-3 cloves. The hummus can be eaten right away, but it’s better if you let it stand for at least 30 minutes.

Hummus with crudités

Ingredients:

For the hummus:
2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15 oz. can
1/2 cup Tahini (sesame paste)
1/4-1/2 cup lukewarm water or of the liquid from the chickpeas
1 small cloves of garlic
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground chili pepper
3 Tbsp. white or red onion minced better if fresh or if you prefer scallions
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
chopped fresh parsley to garnish

For the crudités:
2 large carrots
1 seedless cucumber
3 celery ribs, strings removed with a vegetable peeler halved lengthwise and cored
1/2 red bell pepper
You can use the vegetables you prefer

Preparation:

For the hummus:
Drain the chickpeas if you’re using the canned ones. Put them in a food processor or use a hand blender, add all the other ingredients plus 1/4 cup of the liquid and start blending, if it’s too dry add more liquid until it reaches a puree consistency. Let the flavors blend together for about 30 minutes. Serve and garnish with chopped parsley.

For the crudites:
Cut carrots, celery, bell pepper and cucumber into 1/2-inch-wide sticks (2 1/2 inches long) and display them on a plate around the hummus bowl.


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. aixa carta on June 20, 2009 8:58 am

    Hi Patty.

    I’d like to prepare this nice deep, but I don’t really know what the Tahini sauce is. Can you please explain a little bit more?

    Thank you in advance,

    Aixa

  2. admin on June 20, 2009 9:25 am

    @Aixa: Tahini or sesame paste is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds grounded. You can find it in natural or Middle Eastern stores.

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