There's a hummus among us

ummus is one of those basic recipes that is so so handy to have in your repertoire. Whip up a little hummus with crackers and cheese, add some to a Greek salad or wrap, use it as a dip for veggies... the options are many.

Hummus is also one of those foods that I can remember eating for the first time (again with the food memories!), mostly because up until the very first bite I was resolutely convinced that chickpeas (garbanzos, as I was raised to call them) were the devil's food. Granted, I mostly ate them at church potlucks in traditional over-dressed-and-over-marinated three-bean salads. (Well, in true childhood eating fashion, I probably had them ONCE and made a judgment of Never Again.) But with that first bite, my mind was about to be blown...

Fastforward to 1991 and a girlfriend who loved to experiment with food. She was quite ingenious with a newlywed grocery budget--she knew how to turn random ingredients into a great meal. One of these meals regularly involved hummus. Imagine my surprise at how actually delicious it was; flavorful and unlike anything chickpea-ish I'd ever tasted before.

I go through hummus phases, where I make it a lot, then take a break... a few months later, I think, where's the hummus? and away we go again on a hummus jag. The past couple of weeks? Yeah, we're on a jag...

Hummus
Makes 2+ cups
1 16 oz can (2 cups if you've cooked your own) chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4+ cup liquid from can of chickpeas (or water, if not using canned)
3-5 Tbsp lemon juice (depending on your taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed (roasted garlic is great for flavor, and you can up the number to 3-4 cloves, since the flavor is more mellow)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Put the garlic cloves in your food processor and whiz until they are chopped fine. Add the chickpeas, liquids, tahini, cumin, salt and olive oil, and puree until smooth. Taste and then adjust as you desire. (Here is where I often add another garlic clove, thinking it needs a little "boost," and then regret it later...)

For smoother hummus, legend has it (well, online sources, but it sounds like the work of a legend) that peeling the individual garbanzo bean is the way to go for truly creamy hummus. One day I may have just that much time on my hands. But I have a hard time actually thinking that the smooth would be worth it... who knows, maybe once I've done it, I'll never go back?

I DO know that letting hummus sit overnight in the fridge improves its flavor greatly, if you have that kind of patience. For me, I usually double the recipe and enjoy the first night, then have leftovers the second night and remark to myself how a) wonderful it is, I should always leave it to deepen the flavors, or b) wow, why did I add that third garlic clove?

And, lastly, there are always lovely variations to be had with hummus. I think one of my favorites is roasted red pepper, which is easily accomplished with  a few strips of either fresh or canned roasted red peppers hopping in the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. And I always like a few chopped kalamata olives on top or mixed into the hummus as well (see picture above!).

If you enjoy hummus as much as I enjoy hummus, let me know what variation you prefer or if there's an ingredient you add that I'm missing. I'm always up for a new twist.

Peanut sauce

 eanut sauce is such a favorite of mine, I can't believe I haven't posted an actual recipe here before. I know I've talked about it quite a bit over the blog-years (did a search this afternoon to reassure myself that I didn't post it but then space it!), but it appears I haven't actually shared my take on it.

I remember the day I tried peanut sauce for the first time, which, given that it was more than 20 years ago, seems a little odd. But then, food memories (for me) can be a bit that way... I was in Sydney, Australia, 1988, sometime in November. OK, so not *the* day. But I remember what I ordered--a Thai peanut pizza at a little pizzeria in the bottom of the Queen Victoria Building. Why I would order that pizza when I'd never had peanut sauce is a little lost on me, but apparently I was feeling adventurous. And since then, I've made it countless times, as I quickly ascertained that the bottled versions in the store taste NOTHING like freshly-made.

 This recipe has been my standby through the years. There are many variations to experiment with--some sweeter, some hotter, some with coconut milk--but I have always returned to the reliability of this pretty basic (but of course, adapted a wee bit) blend.

Peanut sauce
Adapted from foodnetworkcom (the recipe for chicken satay that is featured with the peanut sauce is also quite lovely)
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons red chili paste, such as sambal (I've also used chili oil or even red pepper flakes, in a pinch)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, optional, for garnish

Put the garlic clove and ginger in the food processor (or blender). Whiz quickly to break up the garlic. Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, red chili paste, brown sugar and lime juice, and puree to combine. While the motor is running, drizzle in the hot water to thin out the sauce (you may not need all of the water for a dipping sauce, but if you're wanting to make this as a salad dressing, you may want a little more). Pour the sauce into a serving bowl and garnish with the chopped peanuts.

I have used this recipe in many ways--over chicken breasts and baked, as a dipping sauce for chicken satay skewers or spring rolls, over a stirfry and brown rice, with noodles and tofu, thinned as a salad dressing over cabbage and peppers for an Asian salad... it is one flavor I can eat over and over and very rarely get tired of!

Butternut squash risotto IN A CROCKPOT!

ike any good carb-lover, I adore risotto. Especially risotto done right. You know, all the stirring, the broth exactly the right warmth to add into the rice. The toasting of the rice first, then the wine or sherry, and all the steps so laborious and time consuming.

Except!

It doesn't have to be that way. Maybe I'm a little slow to the risotto revolution, but when I needed to make risotto last week and my stove was still out of commission, I thought, why not figure out a way in the crockpot? And sure enough, the interwebs cooperated with a plethora of recipes.

I settled on the one below, and it went off without a hitch. Wanting to kick it up a notch, of course, I added butternut squash and then made a bunch of little risotto cakes (see further below) for the work event last week. This is definitely going to be my go-to risotto method in the future, many apologies to all you purists out there.

Crockpot risotto
1 1/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
3 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 t dried onion flakes
5 cloves chopped garlic
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (to add at the very end)

Toss the uncooked Arborio rice with the olive oil in your crockpot stoneware, add the seasonings and garlic. Pour in the broth and white wine; stir to mix flavors.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until the rice is tender. (Mine took longer, but I was doubling... well, tripling the recipe...) (P.S. I couldn't resist stirring it once or twice. I know, old habits... but it didn't seem to hurt it...)

Stir in the shredded cheese and leave uncovered for about 15 minutes to let a bit of the moisture escape

The final product will be very creamy and have a porridge-like consistency.

To make butternut squash version:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Roast butternut squash cubes until the cubes are quite soft. Put roasted squash in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher until roughly mashed. Add the risotto and stir until well mixed.

To make risotto cakes:
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese shreds

Prehead oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Make sure the risotto is completely cold. (You can make the risotto ahead by a couple of days if needed.) Test the consistency. If the mixture is too soft, even after cooling, it will make rather flat cakes (trust me, I know). If soft, add some plain bread crumbs to the mixture to thicken it up.

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese shreds together in a food processor until well blended. Put in a medium bowl and set aside.

Make balls from the risotto (about a large teaspoon full) and roll them in the crumb/cheese mixture; place on the baking sheet and flatten slightly with your hand. Continue with the rest of the mixture or until you have made enough risotto cakes. Because the cakes shouldn't spread too much, I usually can fit 24 on a large baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Future files: Artichoke hearts, fried

uite a rare thing happened the other day: I had leftover FRESH artichoke hearts in the house. By rare I mean it's never happened before. Usually what happens is that I scarf the whole thing--leaves, heart and all--in one fell swoop. That's just how I roll.

 But the other night I had a four-pack of small artichokes from Costco that were languishing in the back of the fridge and I thought, finally, I'll roast 'em up (since discovering the flavor of roasted artichokes, I don't think I'm ever going back). I made it through quite a few leaves but was slowing down as I approached the hearts and in rare (again: never) fit of sensibility, I thought I'd tuck them away for a future lunch or dinner and figure out something spectacular to do with them. (If this whole paragraph seems really "I" centric, it's because artichokes are a solo experience around here. Weird looks from the boys, no takers here. Just didn't want you thinking I actually KEEP the artichokes from them.)

The tucking away happened. The spectacular, not so much. I did my usual Google search and came up with plenty of things to do to jarred or canned artichoke hearts... not really what I was looking for. So I just ate them. Yep. Just like that. And they were good, don't get me wrong. But. Take. A. Look. At. These. Babies. Yeah. That's what I'm talkin' about. Tick tock, the future's coming...

Artichoke Hearts from food52
2 globe artichokes, preferable with some stalk.
1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs

Prepare the artichokes: Peel all the leaves off the choke. Peel the stalk and with a paring knife neatly trim the bottom where you removed the leaves.

Cut the trimmed artichokes in half vertically and with a spoon remove the hairy choke. Be careful when cutting in half to evenly cut the stem, too.

Rub immediately with lemon juice so the artichoke doesn't get brown (which happens very quickly!). Steam the hearts until tender. Time will vary depending on the size of the hearts (about 15 minutes).

Dip each artichoke half into the egg and then into the bread crumbs. Fry in the olive oil over medium heat until golden. Set on paper towels to absorb the oil.

Creamy Cumin-Lime Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Finely grated zest of a lime
Juice of a lime
Salt

Mix all the ingredients together, adding salt to taste. Serve the golden hearts warm with the creamy dipping sauce.

I'm still a little freaked that this recipe came along about 24 hours after I needed it--it's like the internet knew what I was looking for and sent it to me! Maybe it couldn't quite anticipate my needs, but still, that's pretty quick, don't you think? And I think it won't be very long until I find myself with some hearts on my hands, too!