Hummus

Do you love hummus? I do.  I love hummus so much I make it in massive batches and freeze it so that I can always have some.  My love affair with hummus began about 8 years ago when I was introduced to my first Turkish restaurant.  I can't even.  Turkish food may be the most delicious thing I've ever tasted and people....I've been exposed to excellent Mexican food.  That's saying something.

I spent a disproportionate amount of time trying to imitate the hummus that was sold at my very favourite Turkish restaurant.  This is the result.

Hummus

Makes 1.25 litres (or 5.5 cups) of hummus

Ingredients

3 x 400g cans of chick peas (also called garbonzo beans for all of you from MURICA) - Drain 2, leave one as-is.
3 teaspoons minced garlic (or 3 minced garlic cloves)
4 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.  Blend until smooth, adding the olive oil in small amounts until the desired consistency is reached.  Serve with bread, vegetables or other delicious things like the flesh of your defeated foes.

Remember that hummus varies.  Some people like their hummus more bland with less tahini, some people like it with a lot of tahini, some people with a lot of garlic or a lot of lemon juice.  Fiddle with it until you have your hummus the way YOU like it.  Mine is quite tahini heavy because I love that toasted sesame flavour in my hummus.  Nomomom.

Happy cooking.

Turkish Bread

My newest bready love.  So easy and so delicious I can't find an excuse not to make it (except that I'm currently out of flour (HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN!??)).

Turkish Bread

Ingredients

230g plain white flour

200ml warm water

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

Topping (sesame seeds and nigella seeds are traditional)

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine your 200ml water, active dry yeast, salt, a dash of flour and sugar.  Whisk together and set aside for 20-30 minutes in a warm room.  This is called a yeast starter.  It will turn creamy and frothy.  This is your yeast multiplying.  This is good.

Measure out 230g plain white flour in a medium bowl.  Add the olive oil and the yeast starter.  This will make a very, very sticky dough.  Combine the ingredients and knead together with your bare hands or a wooden spoon.

Transfer to a container or bowl that has been sprayed or wiped down with oil.  Cover and set aside somewhere warm for 30 minutes to one hour or until your dough has risen.

Preheat your oven to 220C (210C for a fan-forced oven)

Flour a surface and empty your container out onto your countertop.  The dough will spread. From here you can make either one large loaf or two smaller loaves.  To make two smaller loaves, simply cut the dough in half using a sharp, clean knife.  

Get flour on your hands and lift your dough up, placing it on your floured baking sheet and pressing lightly into small, oval loaves (about 15mm thick).  Tap the surface with your fingertips along the length - this is what gives Turkish bread it's textured surface.  Set aside for 20 minutes in a warm area for a second rise.

Whisk together the egg and milk and brush onto the loaves with a pastry brush.  Sprinkle your topping onto the bread.  Sesame seeds and nigella seeds (the little black ones) are traditional but if you have a hard time finding nigella seeds (and I always do), you can use freshly ground cumin for a similar flavor.

Pop into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until your loaves are golden.  Cooking time will vary, so keep an eye on them.

Let cook COMPLETELY before cutting - remember that bread continues to cook until it is cool.  If you cut it too soon it will be dense and doughy inside.  The fluff comes once it's cooled.

Serve with some fantastic hummus - recipe to come.  Yumyumyum.

Ham & Cheese Mini Quiches

This is something that I did for the Gunning playgroup today.  They were so well received I told the parents that I'd be putting them up on my blog.  I'm glad everyone loved them!

Let's start with a simple, basic shortcrust recipe.

Basic Savory Shortcrust

Makes 2 savory pie crusts or 12-18 mini quiches (depending on exact size)

Ingredients

500g plain flour
250g chilled, unsalted butter, cubed
2 eggs, cold
2 tablespoon icewater
2 pinch salt (or 1/8 tsp, whichever you prefers)

Instructions

Place your flour, butter and a pinch of salt in your food processor.  Blend until the combination looks like bread crumbs.  There should be no significant chunks of butter left.

Whisk together the egg and icewater.  Add to the food processor while it is running and continue mixing until the mixture comes together.

Remove from the food processor and turn out onto a counter or cutting board.  It should not stick to the surface even if it is unfloured.  Bring it together into a ball and flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin until you have a disc.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for chilling.

Shortcrust pastry must be chilled before baking.  The colder it is immediately before you pop it in the oven, the crispier your result.  Generally you would chill this disc for 2 hours.  Since heat transfer is linear, the thinner the object, the faster it will chill.  If you are in a hurry - flatten the dough as much as possible.  I roll mine out to 5mm thickness and chill it for 20-30 minutes.

Now that you have your pastry...

Ham & Cheese Mini Quiche

Makes 12-18 (depending on pan size)

These couldn't be simpler.  Okay they could be simpler, but only if they came in a box.

Ingredients

10 eggs
1/2 cup light cream
6 shallots, sliced thinly
200g diced ham
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200C (180C fan-forced).  Grease two muffin tins.

Roll out your shortcrust dough to your desired thickness.  Cut circles with a radius approximately 1cm larger than the radius of your muffin cups (I use all sorts of things.  Small bowls, jars, egg rings, glasses, etc.  Be creative!).  Line the muffin cups with your pastry.  It will not reach all the way to the top.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, shallots and ham until combined.  Pour the mixture into your pastry cups, right to the top.   Sprinkle with tasty cheese.

Bake in your preheated oven for 12-25 minutes (time varies wildly depending on the size/shape of your muffin tins).  Quiches are done when the egg is set and the tops are golden.

For best results, serve immediately.  When reheating - an oven should be used as microwaves can leave egg products rubbery.  Reheat at 150C for approximately 20 minutes.