HUMMUS SERVED HOT

It is week 6 of the Food Matters Project . Our host Erin chose the recipe to cook this week. It is a basic recipe for hummus but Mark Bittman encourages readers to kick it up a notch. I made falafels in my crock pot and served them with plain hummus, spicy chipotle hummus, tzatziki sauce, and warm whole wheat pita bread. The chipotle hummus was a winner.

The recipe suggests serving the hummus hot. I divided it in half and warmed it over medium heat. When hot, I added lemon juice, and to one batch I added 1 whole chipotle pepper chopped, and 1 tsp. adobo sauce.

The combination of the warm spicy hummus, and the cool tzatziki sauce was wonderful when spread inside a warm pita pocket and stuffed with a couple of falafels.


HUMMUS NACHOS

I had some leftover pita bread so I made hummus nachos. I cut the pita bread into chips, brushed them with olive oil and toasted for about 10 minutes. Then I topped them with the chipotle hummus, chopped bell pepper, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and crumbled feta cheese. Put it back in the oven and baked until the cheese and hummus were warm and the chips were crunchy. This was a great quick appetizer.

If you want the recipe for the hummus please visit Erin on her blog here.

And if you want to see some really creative takes on hummus, please check out The Food Matters Project . 

FALAFELS

I grew up eating falafels in pita bread. I realized today that some people have never heard of them before. Falafels are balls or patties made from ground chick peas or fava beans, and some added spices. They are usually fried and served in pita bread with hummus and sauces and sometimes lettuce and tomato. Fried falafels are the best but for healthy eating I usually bake them. This time I tried them in the crock pot. They stayed really moist and delicious but never developed the crusty outside that is so good.

CROCK POT FALAFELS

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

1/2 onion (quartered)

2 minced garlic cloves

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. sriracha sauce (or 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper)

3 TBSP. lemon juice

3/4 cup panko crumbs (or bread crumbs)

2 TBSP. olive oil

Process the onion in a food processor until it is very finely chopped. Add the spices, egg, garlic, and lemon juice. Process until mixed.

Drain the beans and add to the food processor. Process with just a few pulses leaving some beans in chunks.

Transfer the bean mixture to a bowl and add bread crumbs. Mix together. It will be a bit wet and sticky.

Pour 2 TBSP. of olive oil in the bottom of crock pot.

Form bean mixture into golf size balls and flatten slightly.

Dip each side into the olive oil to coat and nestle into the bottom of crock pot. It's fine if they overlap or lay on top of each other.

Cook on high for about 4 hours or until golden brown.

Layer into a pita or corn tortilla with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus or tangy ranch dressing.

Recipe adapted from Food.com