FoodMayhem

As I mentioned in my previous post, I served Moroccan Spiced Chops with Pluot Sauce to Angie and Scott. You don’t think that’s all I served, do you? Of course not! Meals at our place are always feasts! With that we had Tzatziki (I’ve posted this recipe before), Hummus, Quinoa Tabbouleh, Eggplant Caperberry Salad, and fresh Pita. Here are the recipes to make your feast!

I can’t believe I’ve never posted a hummus recipe. If you have a food processor, it is so easy to make, you’ll never pay for store bought versions again. Take this recipe as a guideline, adjusting to your taste. My tahini (which we brought home from Greece) is super dark so here I use 1 tablespoon but you might need more. Keep in mind that the quality of your ingredients will make a big difference here, especially what olive oil you use.

Hummus

• 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dark tahini
• 1-2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil + extra for garnishing
• paprika (optional) for garnishing

Place chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic in the food processor and pulse a few times. Turn the processor on while pouring a continuous stream of olive oil. Scrape down the sides of the processor bowl and pulse a few times. Taste and adjust to your tastes. You can serve or store in the fridge. Return to room temperature and drizzle with olive oil before serving. Sprinkle with paprika if you wish.

The Quinoa Tabbouleh recipe is no rocket science. I just decided to use quinoa instead of bulgur because I don’t normally have bulgur in stock. It turned out just as light and refreshing.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 cup small dice yellow tomato
• 1 1/3 cup small dice peeled and seeded cucumber
• 1 cup small dice red grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped scallion
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare quinoa according to package instructions and set aside and cool completely.
2. Toss quinoa with remaining ingredients and serve.

Eggplant Caperberry Salad

• 2 small eggplants (totaling 1 pound 3 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 caperberries
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 2 lemons, divided
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut eggplants into 1″ cubes. Heat the olive oil in a 12″ skillet on medium high heat. Add eggplant and stir until soft and browned, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt.
2. In a large serving bowl, toss together eggplant, zest from 1 lemon and juice, caperberries, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining zest before serving.

Note: Make this the day before and store in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature and garnish before serving.

I used the pita recipe from The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Most of the recipe was really easy to follow but they were a bit hard to handle in the end, rather sticky, so I couldn’t lay them as flat as I wanted to, to bake. That created occasional folds and stretches that I didn’t want. They were still delicious though and I would definitely make them again!