This salad is tasty and extremely healthy. Make sure you get thin pita bread because it crisps better and doesn't get as hard. I use authentic Lebanese bread because I like it the best. Also, if you're not familiar with sumak, it is a spice used in middle eastern cooking. It is a reddish brown color and lemony in taste. You can find it at international markets.
Pita Chips:
1 large or 2 medium pita bread rounds
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sumak
salt to taste
Salad:
1 medium head romaine lettuce or about 2 cups
1 1/2 cups tomatoes cut into small wedges
3/4 cup cucumber chopped into small squares
1/2 cup radish sliced thin
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves or1 teaspoon dried mint
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (just the leaves not the stems)
Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons sumak
To Make The Pita Chips:
Heat the oven to 350. Cut pita bread into 1 inch squares and put on a foil lined baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake 15-18 minutes until they brown and are crispy all the way through. Then take them out and put in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil and sumak and some salt to taste. In a salad bowl mix together all the chopped vegetables. Right before you're ready to serve, toss the salad with the prepared dressing and pita chips. Enjoy!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Garbanzo bean dip (Hummus bi Tahini)
For The Beans:
1/2 cup water
1 15 or 16 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained (about 1 3/4 cups)
For The Hummus:
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup tahini (This is a sesame seed paste used in many middle eastern dishes. You can find it at a store that specializes in international food.)
Put beans and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over high heat and cook a couple of minutes at a rolling boil. (You don't have to precook the beans, but the texture will be smoother if you do.) Make sure about half the water evaporates. The less water, the thicker the hummus will be.
Pour the boiled beans and the leftover liquid into a food processor. (You can use a blender but it's harder to get everything to puree evenly. You have to keep turning it off and stirring the beans with a spoon so they all reach the blades.) Add the garlic and salt and process for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a spoon or spatula. Add the lemon juice and tahini and process another minute. Transfer the hummus to another container and refrigerate. Once it's cooled, you can serve it either cold or at room temperature. When serving, you can put the hummus in a dish and create a a circular indentation with a spoon and fill it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. You can garnish it with a few sprigs of parsley and a few whole garbanzos beans in the middle. Serve with raw vegetables, pita bread or crackers for dipping.
Variations: You can make many different flavors of hummus from the basic recipe above.
Sun-dried Tomato Hummus: Add 3/4 cup chopped and drained sun-dried tomatoes to the basic hummus and process until thoroughly blended.
Roasted Red Pepper: Mix in 3/4 cup roasted red peppers and process until blended.
1/2 cup water
1 15 or 16 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained (about 1 3/4 cups)
For The Hummus:
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup tahini (This is a sesame seed paste used in many middle eastern dishes. You can find it at a store that specializes in international food.)
Put beans and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over high heat and cook a couple of minutes at a rolling boil. (You don't have to precook the beans, but the texture will be smoother if you do.) Make sure about half the water evaporates. The less water, the thicker the hummus will be.
Pour the boiled beans and the leftover liquid into a food processor. (You can use a blender but it's harder to get everything to puree evenly. You have to keep turning it off and stirring the beans with a spoon so they all reach the blades.) Add the garlic and salt and process for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a spoon or spatula. Add the lemon juice and tahini and process another minute. Transfer the hummus to another container and refrigerate. Once it's cooled, you can serve it either cold or at room temperature. When serving, you can put the hummus in a dish and create a a circular indentation with a spoon and fill it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. You can garnish it with a few sprigs of parsley and a few whole garbanzos beans in the middle. Serve with raw vegetables, pita bread or crackers for dipping.
Variations: You can make many different flavors of hummus from the basic recipe above.
Sun-dried Tomato Hummus: Add 3/4 cup chopped and drained sun-dried tomatoes to the basic hummus and process until thoroughly blended.
Roasted Red Pepper: Mix in 3/4 cup roasted red peppers and process until blended.
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