Hummus

The most popular Middle Eastern dip ever!

INGREDIENTS

425g cooked garbanzo beans (= 15 OZ canned garbanzo beans)

2 garlic cloves (or just one, depending on how "garlicky" you like it)

1 lemon juice

3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)

1/2 cup spring water
Salt to taste

Extra virgin olive oil
Ground paprika
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Ground sumac
1 ripe tomato (optional)
Fresh coriander leaves (optional)

PREPARATION

Wash the garbanzo beans with cold water, rinse and place them in a food processor (or blender).
Peel and chop the garlic cloves and add.
Add lemon juice, tahini, water and salt.
Blend it until smooth.

Place the puree in plate and spread it out with a spoon.

Garnishing: pour some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle some spices on top.
You can decorate the hummus with the spices and it will look very pretty
(but as you can see, I was VERY hungry when I made it and took the photo, so I just threw everything on top of it!)

It's really good if you chop a tomato into small cubes for garnishing, as well as some fresh cilantro leaves.
You can also squeeze more lemon juice if you prefer it more lemony.

Serve with warm pita bread (or corn tortillas or chips for GLUTEN-FREE) for dipping.

You can keep this in the fridge in a proper container for 3-4 days.

Baba Ghanouj (Cold Eggplant Puree)

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggplants

2 garlic cloves (or just one, depending on how "garlicky" you like it)

1 lemon juice

3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (or 1-2 tbsp dry mint)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Ground paprika

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Wash the eggplant and cut in halves. 

Cover an oven tray with aluminum foil and place the eggplant on top, skin side up.
Pour a little olive oil on top and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the eggplant from the oven and peel it (discard the peel).
Let them cool down to room temperature.

Place the eggplant in a food processor.

Chop and slice garlic, add.
Add lemon juice, tahini, salt, black pepper and mint leaves.

Blend it until smooth.

Serve on a plate, spreading it out with a spoon.
Pour some extra virgin olive oil on top.
Sprinkle ground paprika and decorate with mint leaves.

Serve with warm pita bread (or corn tortillas or chips for GLUTEN-FREE) for dipping.

You can keep this in the fridge in a proper container for a couple of days.

Lentil Burgers

INGREDIENTS (8-10 burgers)

1 can cooked  black lentils (400g approx.)

1 onion

3 garlic cloves 

1 cup bread crumbs

4 tbsp chickpea flour

3/4 cup soy milk

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1tsp salt

Olive oil + sunflower (or corn) oil (for frying)*

*Olive oil will provide good flavor and sunflower/corn oil will make them crispier on the outisde and prevent that they fall apart when frying.

PREPARATION

Put the lentils in a big and tall container.

Mash wish mixer on low speed, only about 4-5 "touches" to crush some of the lentils and leave others whole (you don't want a smooth paste).

Chop the onion very small and add to lentils. Grate the garlic and add.

Add the breadcrumbs, all spices and salt and stir well with a fork. It should have a crumbly texture and rather dry.

In a separate bowl, mix the chickpea flour and soy milk, beating until egg-like texture, maybe a little thicker. Add this mixture to the bowl of lentils and stir well. 

VARIATIONS: You can add to the dough 2 tbsp mustard sauce, different spices (sage, thyme), nuts (walnuts, pistachios, almonds, pine nuts, cashews), herbs (cilantro, basil, oregano)... Improvise!

The burgers should have a solid texture and be compact enough to mold them with your hands and keep the form of a burger. Make them thick, so they don't break when frying.

Place a skillet with about 5 tbsp mild olive oil and about 5 tbsp sunflower or corn oil, on medium heat. When the oil is hot, place the burgers and brown on both sides. 

Once browned on the outside, lower the heat and let it cook inside (it may take 8-10 minutes per side), over low heat, so you don't burn the outside.

Check that they are well done inside using a fork or toothpick and remove from heat. Place on paper towels to drain excess oil, if necessary.