Restaurant-Style Hummus

I've been eating hummus for years. I didn't grow up eating it but rather got acquainted with it as an adult. Hummus is another one of those dishes that while convenient to buy at a store it is so much more flavorful if you make it homemade. 

The recipe itself doesn't call for a lot of ingredients, chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and some salt and garlic. Again a food processor or blender makes preparation a cinch. This is another dish where a high quality olive oil makes all the difference. Since it is added to the hummus while blending and on top of the finished dip, the taste needs to be spot on. Canned chickpeas make this an easy and quick dish to put together. 

I've made this recipe many times and my choice of toppings vary, depending on what I have at home. I love it drizzled with olive oil and pine nuts sprinkled on top. I also enjoy it with roasted garlic. This time tough I went with a small jar of roasted red peppers that I chopped, seasoned and mixed with a bit of olive oil. 

We eat this with pita bread triangles but a lot of times my kids will also take this in their school lunch or eat it as an after school snack with Stacy's Pita Chips. This is also a great dish to bring to any potluck or picnic and even people who have never had it before seem to enjoy it.

Restaurant-Style Hummus

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water

6 tablespoons tahini, stirred well

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Topping (optional):

1 small jar of roasted red peppers, chopped

Salt, Pepper and Olive oil to taste

Directions:

Combine lemon juice and water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together tahini and 2 tablespoons oil in  second small bowl.

Process chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds.  Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through food tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add oil-tahini mixture in steady stream through food tube, continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, scraping down bowl as needed.

Transfer hummus to serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until flavors meld,  at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil, add topping if desired and serve.

Adapted from: Cook's Illustrated

Tandoori Chicken

I have never cared for the spice ginger much. I don't know what it is about it, but a lot of times I feel like it overpowers the food itself. On the other hand, I love Asian food and many recipes do call for ginger in either dry or fresh form. Often, I would just reduce the ginger so I wouldn't be able to taste it on my first bite.

I guess things are changing around here and I'm a "ginger-convert". A few weeks ago my baking friend Grapefruit suggested Gingered Carrot Cookies for our bi-weekly Baking with Dorie Challenge and I loved them so much I have baked them several times since.

So when the newest Food Network Magazine arrived and I saw the Tandoori Chicken in their "Weeknight Cooking" column I wasn't turned off right away, in fact, I was intrigued. After further examination of the recipe and seeing that it called for a big 2-inch chunk of fresh ginger I was getting doubtful, but decided it was as good of a time as ever to get over my ginger phobia.

The recipe is easily put together, the meat only marinates a total of about 20 minutes. My husband decided to throw the chicken thighs on the grill which gave them a nice bit of char and added another dimension of flavor to the chicken. I served this chicken with the yogurt sauce (which helps tone down some of the heat) called for in the recipe, rice and a simple side salad.

The verdict? I was in love with this chicken as was the rest of the family. We all couldn't get enough of this meal. The ginger taste was there, but along with all the other spices and ingredients it didn't overpower anything, just enhance. This dish is going in my permanent recipe files and will be made many more times. I hope you'll give this one a try as well!

Tandoori Chicken

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients: 
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
Juice of 1 Lemon
Kosher Salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt (I used Greek style)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 3/4 teaspoons hot paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Directions: 
Preheat the broiler.* Make shallow cuts in the chicken thighs with a sharp knife. Toss the chicken with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl.

Pulse 2 tablespoons yogurt, the vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin,
1 1/2 teaspoons  paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor to make a paste. Toss the chicken in the mixture and let marinate 15 minutes.

Place the chicken on a foil-lined broiler pan. Broil, turning once, until slightly charred and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon paprika, the cilantro and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Top the chicken with the yogurt sauce and serve with rice, if desired.


Note: If you have the opportunity to grill the chicken thighs on a charcoal or even a gas grill, I would suggest going that route as it adds so much flavor.

Adapted from: Food Network Magazine