Tag Archives: hummus

Apr16

Sriracha Hummus and my new favorite party app

Posted on April 16, 2015 by athaidek

Today I write to you with a new view on life. Let me tell you about the new, Argentine Katie, and how I’d like to convene with those of you who may share the same new views as me. I recently returned from an amazing trip with my cousins, aunt, uncle, and their grandmother to Buenos Aires. To be honest with you, I had no idea what to expect and had an amazing time exploring the city, meeting new people, and spending time with my cousin’s girlfriend’s amazing family.

While in Buenos Aires, I learned that we wait for EVERYONE to arrive before eating*. I’d like to really pronounce this as “eating asterisk” because what it really means is, let’s have a very large spread of appetizers and drink beer and be joyous until the last person arrives and then let’s still eat a completely normal meal as if we didn’t eat any of those apps.

SO, we found out that there is a tradition of serving “picada” before the meal. While I don’t think my family totally figured out what actually is included in the picada (apparently it really means there has to be some specific forms of meat and cheese), we associated it with a few key items.

While I did love the olives, cheese, and crackers they served, nothing compared to the saltiest salt-mine bag of peanuts that you could find at any grocery store. We were so amazed at the amount of salt in these snack bags we seriously considering draining them in a colander and saving the leftover salt at the bottom of the bag. This is the ULTIMATE pre-dinner snack which paired well with the Imperial beer.

Second, PRINGLES. A great app that also went well with beer. From now on, I’m going to try and find the salt mine peanuts and have pringles when I entertain. These were party starters. Next time I go back, I want to bring this hummus with me and see if they’d like the American tradition to their picada. The only thing is, apparently Argentines don’t like spicy food :/. Until then, more for me!

This hummus recipe is an original from my friend Mike who is master of all spicy foods. An avid sriracha fan, Mike went so far as to carry a sriracha flag with him throughout a festival in Atlanta as the reference point for all of us to find throughout the day. Serve this up at your next dinner party and adjust the spice to your liking 🙂

Sriracha Hummus – easily adaptable to all spice pallettes

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped slightly

3 TBS tahini

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

SRIRACHA – looks like we used maybe 1.5-2 TBS sriracha

1. Combine all ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of your food processor, magic bullet, or blender. Preferably you want to use a food processor here, but if you have either of the others they will work. Pulse in the food processor until the mixture starts to become smooth.

2. Once you’ve broken up the chickpeas and can see the garlic is small, slowly stream in olive oil. This is the part where you can start with a little bit and add more depending on how thick you like it. Mike likes his on the thicker side so that’s what you’ll see here…it’s on the lower end of the olive oil scale. Puree until smooth or keep a bit chunky if thats how you like it.

3. Finish off with a heart-shaped sriracha garnish and a few sesame seeds. Serve with carrots, pita, cucumbers, or on top of a salad/sandwich.

Can’t wait to share the SWEETS I fell in love with in Argentina…I know you’re all on the edge of your chair wondering if I mean desserts or men amirite??? jajaja bon appetit! Let me know how the peanut picada works for you next time you have people over!

Jun29

Mediterranean 7-layer Dip

Posted on June 29, 2014 by athaidek

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Thank you thank you @annies-eats for this recipe! I went to a friend’s house on a lake last weekend and promised to bring a dip along. I haven’t made any dips in a while and wanted to try out something cold since Atlanta summer isn’t the best environment for hot buffalo chicken dip. Also – this could be a dairy free dip if you want to eliminate the feta.

In my family, we LOVE a Mexican 7-layer dip, so if you’re one of those people who likes a big mound of dip on your chip, tune in! This is pretty versatile too – you could really add a variety of different veggies – bell peppers, small chopped broccoli, some whole chickpeas or roasted chickpeas, etc.

I cheated a bit and used store bought hummus, but I think the homemade pesto and fresh veggies make up for it. I think I’ll be bringing this recipe back for the 4th of July weekend and hopefully trying some different variations. Anyone think there’s some way to make a Chinese 7-layer dip? Penny for your thoughts.

Mediterranean 7-layer dip, adapted from Annie’s Eats

Cilantro pesto:

1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro (I used stems and leaves)

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

4 TBS walnuts

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Dip:

3/4 of an English cucumber, diced

half of a red onion, diced

banana peppers, chopped in half

kalamata olives, sliced

julienned sundried tomatoes (I think you could also used diced cherry tomatoes)

crumbled feta cheese (about 1/2-3/4 cup)

1. Make the cilantro pesto: Add the garlic, cilantro, walnuts, some fresh cracked pepper, and 2 TBS olive oil to the bowl of a small food processor. Pulse until not quite a paste, but everything is mixed evenly. Then, slowly drizzle in your olive oil. I didn’t end up needing the whole 1/3 of a cup, but I do like my pesto thicker. After you’ve finished pulsing, mix in your feta (don’t pulse in the food processor, just slowly mix into the mixture)

2. Assemble! I used two different kinds of hummus so I spread them both together in the bottom of a pie plate. After the hummus, add your cilantro pesto in the middle and spread out in an even layer. Then add your toppings! Cukes, red onion, pepps, olives, tomatoes, and you can either end with the feta or add it in batches.

Jan27

Kalamata Olive White Bean Hummus

Posted on January 27, 2014 by athaidek

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For some reason, I’ve always been more successful with the white bean dips over chickpea hummus. But I really wanted to make this after I found olive hummus at Publix the other day and forgot to buy chickpeas, so white bean dip it is!

Let me tell you about a little creation that was the first recipe I ever wrote. And I apologize to my loving family for forcing them to eat this. I guess I was a super salty child because this was an appetizer composed of round tortilla chips, penne pasta, and kalamata olives. Here goes: Set out some round corn tortilla chips on a tray. Chop up your kalamata olives into really tiny pieces like tapenade. Stuff the olive pieces into cooked penne pasta and set two atop each tortilla chip. Serve. Cold. Hence, the beginning of my kalamata olive love.

I like my hummus thick but not really chunky so I’ve adapted from this lovely recipe.

Kalamata Olive Hummus

makes about 2 cups of hummus

1 1/2 15 oz. cans of white northern beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, including some juice from the jar

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 TBS tahini

4 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of cayenne

cracked black pepper to taste

1. Whisk together tahini and olive oil until smooth in a small bowl. Combine lemon juice and water in a separate bowl.

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2. Add beans, spices, olives, and garlic to the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse until fairly smooth and then scrape down the sides before adding the lemon/water mix.

3. Stream in the tahini/olive oil and add more beans if you like your hummus even thicker than this. Add some cracked black pepper at the end.

4. Refrigerate to let flavors meld or eat immediately with pita chips, carrots, other veggies or on a sandwich.