mediterranean feast, part one: two roasted red pepper appetizers (muhammara and hummus)
RECIPE THE FIRST: HUMMUS
I know, I know — everybody and their dog has their own hummus recipe, and they’ve all already posted them online somewhere. At this point, posting a hummus recipe seems a little like posting a recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich; either you already know how to make it, or you just don’t care (and probably never will).
But I’m posting about hummus anyway, a) because I really, really like this recipe, b) because it’s slightly different (and healthier!) than most of the hummus recipes I’ve come across, and c) because it was part of last Friday’s Mediterranean feast, in which we made so many dishes that I had to split the recipes and photos into two different posts.
I put the picture of the freshly roasted red pepper before the jump because it’s an essential ingredient for both of the recipes in this post.
ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS WITH TOASTED PINE NUTS
I tend to make most things with less olive oil than the original recipe calls for, and this hummus is no exception. My hummus is a bit thicker than the hummus you might find in a Mediterranean restaurant, but I’ve found that the addition of a freshly roasted red bell pepper and as much of the “juice” as you can preserve from the roasting process goes a long way in recreating some of the creaminess of a hummus dripping with olive oil, and with far fewer calories.
1 - 2 roasted red bell peppers (from a jar if you must, but roasting them yourself is easy and oh so delicious!)
3-1/2 c garbanzo beans
1/4 c tahini
2 - 3 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
as much or as little fresh garlic as you’d like*
1-1/2 t salt
2 t cumin
1 t dried coriander
1 t paprika
1 t garlic powder
crushed red pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/4 - 1/2 c toasted pine nuts*I use anywhere from 12-15 cloves, but your mileage may vary. It’s also good to keep in mind that raw garlic takes a while to fully flavor a dish, so be careful of relying too much on that first taste. You just might end up adding more garlic when you don’t actually need it (ha, as if there was such a thing!). When I make my hummus and serve it on the same day, I usually back off on the fresh garlic and increase the garlic powder, which gives more of an immediate flavor.
If you’re roasting your own peppers, throw them in the broiler now. Toast pine nuts in a hot, dry saucepan. These things can both be done while you’re combining the rest of the ingredients, but be sure to keep an eye on the pine nuts, as they go from raw to perfectly toasted to burnt to a crisp in a matter of seconds.
Combine garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and cayenne in food processor and blend until smooth. Add roasted, peeled peppers** and as much of their liquid as you managed to save to food processor and blend into garbanzo bean mixture. Slowly drizzle olive oil into mixture until you get the consistency you’re looking for.
**Broil peppers until they’re burnt to a crisp, like in the picture above. Try not to set off any smoke alarms in your house. Ignore smoke alarms after you fail to not set them off. Use tongs to place pepper in sealed plastic container and steam for 5-10 minutes (the longer you wait, the easier it will be to get that skin off). Carefully peel away blackened skin, then remove stem and seeds while preserving as much of the liquid inside the pepper as you can.
Taste the hummus. At this point, it usually needs another squirt of lemon juice and a half pinch of salt to really solidify the flavor. Garnish with paprika and toasted pine nuts and serve with vegetables, crackers, baguette slices, or pita (we made ours from scratch; recipe to follow in part two). Serves 12 (serving size is approx. 1/3 c).
NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving):
42 calories (13 from fat)
1.5 g fat
138 mg sodium
6.3 g carbs
1.45 g protein
RECIPE THE SECOND: MUHAMMARA
For as much as I love hummus, and especially roasted red pepper hummus, I think I just might love muhammara (or muhamara or mahammara or mouhamara or mohamara or however you want to spell it) even more. Bryson likes it so much that just catching a whiff of it while he washes out the empty Tupperware is enough motivation for him to immediately make another batch.
I first tried it at Mazza, one of my favorite local restaurants. It was such an interesting mix of flavors, unlike anything I’d ever eaten before, and I immediately started trying to recreate it at home. It took some tweaking, to be sure; one of the first recipes I tried to follow told me that I could use grenadine instead of pomegranate syrup, which is definitely NOT the case (and yes, I should have known that without actually trying it, but hey). The recipe has been through various incarnations since then (thank god!), but I’ve made this version a good five or six times now without wanting to change a thing, which tells me that it’s probably as good as it’s ever going to get.
MUHAMMARA
4 medium red bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2/3 c breadcrumbs
1-2/3 c toasted walnuts
12-16 cloves garlic
1/2 t garlic powder
pinch of salt
1 t cumin
1-1/2 T lemon juice
1/4 c pomegranate syrup***
3 - 4 T olive oil***You can supposedly find pomegranate syrup (aka pomegranate molasses) in the stores, but I’ve never come across any myself, and it’s so easy to make that I’ve pretty much stopped looking for it commercially. Simmer 3 parts pomegranate juice to 1 part sugar until it thickens, 45 minutes or longer (depends on how syrupy you want it). Keeps in fridge for, well, quite awhile. Especially if you make muhammara as often as I do.
Roast, steam, peel, and de-seed red bell peppers as instructed above (toast the walnuts in a dry pan while you’re waiting for the peppers to roast). Food process peppers (and that “juice” you remembered to save!), breadcrumbs, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate syrup, and spices. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency.
As with the hummus, your ratio of fresh to powdered garlic should change depending on how quickly you plan on consuming the muhammara. Chill if possible, and serve with romaine leaves, vegetables, or homemade pitas (recipe to follow in part 2). Serves 10 (serving size is approx. 1/4 c).
NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving):
53 cals (29 from fat)
3.2 g fat
16 mg sodium
5.6 g carbs
1 g protein
Related Recipes:
- Kalyn’s Kitchen’s slow-roasted tomato hummus
- Karina’s Kitchen’s jalapeno lime hummus
- Je Mange La Vie’s green onion hummus
- Urban Drivel’s low-fat cilantro lime hummus
5 Responses to “mediterranean feast, part one: two roasted red pepper appetizers (muhammara and hummus)”
May 29th, 2008 at 10:38 am
u can never get enough of hommus recipes. And this one is no exception. Its a fantastic recipe, and i’d gladly dive right into it. Very tempting pictures.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
@ kate: Yeah, sometimes I think I love hummus more than I should.
And thank you! I adore your food photography, so that’s really a compliment coming from you.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
A question about the hummus recipe. It calls for dried coriander - do you mean the leaf or the seed? And if the seed, is it ground or whole?
Thanks!
June 1st, 2008 at 11:11 am
@ lizzymommy: I used the ground seed. Sorry I wasn’t clearer!
June 1st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Brilliant! Thanks! I made it for my daughter’s graduation party and it was a HUGE hit! (both this AND the hummus went over fabulously)
Thank you so much for these delicious recipes
Leave a Comment