The Food Matters Project: Hummus Served Hot with Pita Chips

photo by scott haydon

This week the Food Matters Project was chosen by Erin and you can see her take here.

I have never made hummus before. I know, I know, it makes me sound like less of a human being. But it's true. I grew up hating all beans and although I've (thankfully) outgrown most of my childhood food complaints I still find myself avoiding specific food types for no valid reason. Like beans, and turnips, and soups with meat. That said, homemade hummus is brilliant. And homemade hummus with homemade pitas turned into homemade pita chips? Awesome.



I followed Bittman's recipe pretty carefully. I also made Scott taste-test everything because I didn't know what hummus should taste like. (He tells me this hummus is good. And I like it too.) I added a spoonful of chili garlic sauce and about a spoonful more than 1/4 cup tahini. I used half a meyer lemon. I adore meyer lemons. They are so bright and cheerful and I was pretty happy to see them for a decent price in the grocery store earlier this week.

Along with a newfound desire to make my own hummus from scratch for the rest of my life I am fairly certain I will never buy storebought pita again. It was too easy to make and too good to settle for anything you can get at the usual grocery store.

Hummus -
adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook

3 cups canned chickpeas, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup + 1 spoonful tahini
salt and pepper
1/2 a meyer lemon, juice
1 large spoonful chili garlic sauce, 1 small spoon garnish
sprig parsley, garnish

Food process the chickpeas, garlic, oil, tahini, chili garlic sauce, salt and pepper - til smooth. 

Transfer to saucepan and heat over medium, while stirring. Add lemon and other seasoning as needed.

Serve hot! with pita chips.

Pita -
adapted from this really good recipe.

1 cup warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
2 1/2 cups flour, smidge more for kneading
2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil

Mix water and yeast and let sit for five minutes. Add flour, salt and olive oil. Once combined, knead dough til smooth and elastic - adding flour as needed. I like to knead the dough inside the large bowl instead of on the table. Mostly because I like the idea of only having one surface to clean. This has worked fine for me so far.

Once kneaded, lightly cover surface of dough with olive oil and set dough aside, with towel covering, until dough has doubled. 1 hourish for me.

Preheat oven to 450. Place pan that you plan on using in oven to preheat as well.

Deflate the dough and separate into 8 balls. Lightly sprinkle with flour. On a clean surface, flatten each ball into a disc. Then, using a rolling pin, make a circle roughly 1/4 inch thick.

Place circle on pan and bake for 3 to 5 minutes. This is the cool part. If you did it right, you will end up with puffy bread. Really puffy bread. Mine kind of just looked like when your pizza gets a bubble in it and you want to pop it. The puffier the bread, the easier it is to slice in half and stuff.

Pita Chips-

Slice your pitas in half. drizzle with oil and your choice of seasoning. I used parsley, salt and pepper. Then, using a knife or pizza cutter, slice into triangles or strips.

Place in oven (400) and bake til browning. I didn't really pay attention to time. We just pulled out individual "chips" as they looked done.

I took the Pita Chips and Hummus to a dinner party and they were both very well received. Yum! Can't wait for next week's recipe.

Oh! And today was my very first CSA delivery.

I am really excited about Terra Organics. I've been wanting to join a csa for a couple of years but just never did it. Until now. I'm hoping that it helps me branch out and try more and more unfamiliar, tasty and healthy vegetable and fruit options. This week's box included sunchokes and rainbow chard. Two things I've never eaten before and can't wait to try out.