Hummus

Ingredients

2cups (1 ¼ pound) of dried chick peas ( garbanzo beans)

1 tablespoon of baking soda
¼ cup of tahini (sesame paste)
2 to 3 lemon juiced

¼ cup very cold icy water if needed
Salt

Olive oil for garnish

Sort through the chickpeas before you boil them to remove any disfigured or bad chickpeas.

Soak the dried chickpeas overnight with a lot of water (cover them completely, use twice the amount of water vs. the volume of chickpeas).

The next day, rinse the chickpeas well with cold water.


Fill a big (8 quart) pot with plenty of water, using the same amount as when you soaked them. Add the baking soda, and bring to the boil.

When the water is boiling turn the heat down and simmer until the chickpeas are cooked, 60 to 90 minutes. Remove froth with a skimmer as needed.

To test for doneness remove one chick pea with a spoon and smash  between thumb and index finger if its tender its done!

Take the pot off the heat and put it under the cold water tap. The cold water will shock the skins into cracking so that they will easily come off and float to the surface. In order to allow them to float up you need to gently stir the chickpeas and as the skins surface remove them with a slotted spoon. Keep stirring a little and removing the skins that surface until you’ve removed most skins.

Now strain the chickpeas and leave them in a colander to drain.

Place the tahini and lemon juice in the food processor add the chickpeas mix until you have a smooth paste, but still a little firm. If it’s too thick add little by little the icy cold water. Finally add salt to taste.

Serve with olive oil and pita bread.

Serves 4 to 6 people

Grilled Eggplant with Tomato-Basil Relish

2 large eggplants trimmed from stem and cut ½ inch thick

4 ripe tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

5 tablespoons olive oil or more

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 scallions thinly sliced

1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 bunch finely chopped fresh basil plus fresh leaves, for garnish



Heat your grill to high or oven to 450.

Place the tomatoes in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Do the same with the eggplants. Place tomatoes and eggplant slices on the grill and grill until charred on all sides, and just cooked through, about 10 minutes. If using oven put on a sheet and spray with cooking oil and bake 10 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill place the eggplant on a platter and remove skin from the tomatoes and coarsely chop.


Put the chopped tomatoes in a bowl, add 3 tablespoons of oil, onion, vinegar and basil and gently mix until combined. Let sit at room temperature for flavors to blend. Serve eggplant and drizzle tomato relish on top.

Italian Green Beans, Loubie Bzet

For meatless Monday green Italian beans with tomato sauce is a great option. If you cannot find flat green beans in season, you can find them in the freezer section.



2 pounds of green beans trimmed and cut in bite size

3 – 4 big tomatoes peeled and chopped or canned crushed tomato

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic whole

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon allspice



In a pot sauté onion till translucent add green beans and sauté till they change their color add garlic, salt and allspice and the tomatoes. Add water to cover beans, cover and cook over medium heat for 35 to 40 minutes or until beans are cooked and sauce has reduced and thickened. Serve cold with pita bread. Sahten!

Middle Eastern Rice with Ground Lamb

This rice dish can be served with a variety of main dishes it is rich in ingredients and served with roast leg of lamb, roast turkey or simply by itself with some plain yogurt on the side. For Christmas I make it for my family with roast turkey.

Serves 6


2 cups of long grain basmati rice

3 cups of water

1 pound of ground beef or lamb (chopped mushroom for vegetarians)

½ cup vegetable oil

½-teaspoon allspice

1teaspoons salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp saffron (optional)

½ cup of almonds

½ cup halved walnuts

½ cup pine nuts



Wash the almonds and soak in boiling water for three minutes; this makes it easy to remove skin, skip this step if you have them already skinned.

Fry the almonds on low heat in the vegetable oil until golden in color. With a slotted spoon remove almond to a small bowl and set aside. Now fry the pine nuts in the same pot until gold in color. Remove onto a separate bowl and set aside. Then the walnuts, be careful not to over fry them they will burn easily. Remove and put in a separate bowl.

In a large skillet put the ground meat and stir add salt, allspice, cinnamon and saffron and brown on all sides. Wash the rice and drain well add to the ground beef. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve on a platter and decorate with the fried nuts. Sahten!

Sauteed Dandelion

Mom makes the best dandelion dish with crunchy caramelized onions. I never got to make them as crunchy but they are great just the same. She gave me the tip to add some flour when sauteing the onions after they turn gold. Good luck if you try that!!




Ingredients:



2-pounds dandelion washed stems removed and chopped 1inch thick

1 bunch cilantro washed and chopped

¾ cup olive oil

2-onion julienne

2 garlic sliced (optional)

2-lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt





Prepare dandelions and transfer to pot and cover with water, cook for 5 minutes, or until just tender. Drain and squeeze excess water. Use the same pot to sauté onions with the olive oil till golden brown. Remove and set aside. Place cilantro in the same pot and sauté until wilted add dandelions, garlic, and salt. Finish with lemon juice and garnish with the sautéed onions.

Serve with pita bread.