Mazzas Hummus Recipes

LEBANESE MEZZA DISHES: FATTOUSH, HOUMMUS, BABA GHANNOUJ

Steps:

• In a small bowl mix all dressing ingredients well.
• Put all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with 1/2 to 1 cup dressing. Serve immediately.
• Drain and dry chick peas. Put garlic in food processor and mince. Add chick peas and mince, scraping down the sides. Add salt, tahini and lemon juice. Mix. Taste. Add enough reserve chick pea juice to make a thick creamy consistency. You should be able to make an indentation in the hummus with a back of a spoon. Check taste again for additional lemon or salt.
• Serve on a platter and garnish with radishes, tomato roses, reserve chick peas, parsley and or cayenne pepper. Serve with olive oil and fresh pita bread.
• Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and put upside down on a greased foil lined pan. Put under a broiler until the outside skin is charred black and the pulp inside is soft (15 to 30 minutes). Scrape out eggplant and put in bowl to cool, preferably in refrigerator for several hours. Pour off extra liquid before using.
• In a food processor, mince garlic, and scrape down sides. Add eggplant, salt, and 1/4 cup tahini. Pulse the food processor to mix. Slowly add lemon juice. Taste. Adjust salt and lemon or tahini.
• Serve on a shallow platter and garnish with chopped parsley, miniature eggplant, tomato or radish roses. Serve with Lebanese pita bread.

HUMMUS

Steps:

• Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

BEST HUMMUS

Steps:

• Place garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, water, garlic, and cumin into a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle top of hummus with paprika and fresh parsley.

ZAHAV'S HUMMUS 'TEHINA'

Steps:

• In a bowl, cover chickpeas by at least 2 inches of cold water. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and let soak at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse.
• In a medium pot, cover soaked chickpeas by at least 4 inches of water. Add the remaining teaspoon baking soda and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high and let cook at a vigorous simmer until chickpeas are quite soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (Overcooked chickpeas are the secret to creamy hummus, so don't worry if they start to break down a little.) Drain.
• While chickpeas are cooking, make the tahini sauce. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let mixture sit 10 minutes. Add tahini, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the cumin, and blend until a thick paste forms. Add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water while blender is running, a little at a time, until sauce is smooth. You're looking for a perfectly smooth, creamy sauce.
• Add the warm, drained chickpeas to blender with tahini mixture. Blend until perfectly smooth and not at all grainy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally. This blending may take upward of about 2 minutes; just keep going until the mixture is ultracreamy and fluffy, adding a little water if you need it to make the contents of the blender move. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt, lemon juice and/or cumin as needed.
• To serve, spread the hummus on a plate, dust with paprika, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley.