Monday, April 14, 2008

Hummus and Pita

recipe from Jenny:

We had this for a picnic dinner at the park last night and it was so good! I've never made pita or humuus before, but both are surprisingly easy, and so much better than store-bought. These are not pocket pitas--more like flatbread. I'm going to try the humuus with no oil for during the week.

Humuus

2 15oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
3 TBS lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)
1 TBS tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
1 TBS olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
few TBS water
salt

In a good blender, blend first five ingredients. Add water as necessary to achieve a smooth paste—slightly lumpy is fine. Add salt to taste. Chill. A variety of different seasonings can be added as desired.


Arabian Pita

1 tablespoon yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
6 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups unbleached flour

In a large bowl, mix yeast, water and sugar; set aside for about 5 minutes, until frothy. Add oil and salt. Add flour and mix well to make a softish dough. Add more flour as needed. Knead dough briefly, then divide into 18 egg sized balls. Place on a floured surface, cover and let rest for 15-30 minutes.

Roll balls into 6 inch circles and cook in a skillet on med-high heat until large "bubbles" form and the bottom side is lightly browned. Flip pita over and cook for a few more minutes. Wrap in a towel to keep warm while cooking the rest of the pitas.

To make pita chips, roll thinner and cook slightly longer. Break into pieces when cooled.

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