Hello, Homemade Hummus!

The reign of the mighty Ranch dressing is a thing of the past for many health-conscious eaters, who are seeking out less fattening and more nourishing alternative ways to dress up veggies. I am a particularly huge fan of hummus, particularly this roasted red pepper version by Sabra.

Thus, my eyes bulged when I spied a simple recipe for said favorite condiment in the latest issue of Cooking Light. I already had tahini on hand from that one time we made falafel from scratch, and the rest I had on hand in my pantry. I found it difficult to mimic the perfectly smooth texture of commercially prepared hummus with a home food processor, but the product tasted great so I didn't mind terribly.

Break out the bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers, or spread hummus on a sandwich, and you'll find the Mediterranean diet to be quite enjoyable.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Courtesy of Cooking Light

1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Preparation:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth.

Spanish Tortilla

After making Portuguese green soup this week, we had leftover linguica, and I decided to make a Spanish tortilla, using Portuguese sausage in place of the Spanish chorizo.

When I announced my intention of making a Spanish tortilla, my husband became excited. "You won't like it," I responded. "Of course I'll like it!" he insisted. "You won't mind the eggs and the potatoes?" I queried (he despises both foods). Puzzled, he said, "Huh?"

Obviously, my husband had the Mexican tortilla confused with a Spanish one, which is more like a fantastic omelette, layered with potatoes and onions. I found a recipe online and tweaked it a bit. I used a cast-iron skillet, which works wonderfully for browning the tortilla and the meat, and can easily be used on both the stove top and oven.

Linguica made a wonderful substitution for the chorizo. I stuck with fresh parsley for the herbs and accidentally substituted fennel for the leek, but it still tasted amazing. Here are the basic stages of the process, followed by the recipe.

Once all of the ingredients have been combined, the tortilla will cook in the skillet,
first on the stove, then in the oven to brown the top.

Finally, you turn it out onto a plate...

Slice it up (here's the cross-section view)...

And serve it up. It will be gorgeous, brown and crusty on the top,
with delicate layers of egg, potato, sausage, onion and leek underneath.

Spanish Tortilla

Few dashes red pepper flakes
Small handful of chopped herbs (parsley, chives or chervil, or combination)
Olive oil
1/2 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lb. potato, VERY thinly sliced
1/2 leek (white part), washed well and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
1/4 lb. dried chorizo or linguica, sliced and quartered
6 free-range eggs

Preheat the oven to 450F. Place the red pepper flakes and herbs in a large bowl. Meanwhile, heat a cast-iron or saute pan over medium low heat and saute the onions until soft. Add the potatoes and leeks to the pan and when soft, add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Place ingredients in the bowl with the red pepper flakes and herbs. Wipe out the saute pan with paper towels and return to the heat. Saute the sausage for about 5 minutes or until crisp, then add to the bowl of ingredients.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork and season with a little salt and pepper. Add eggs to large bowl with other ingredients. Heat a little more olive oil in the pan and swirl to coat. Add all of the ingredients to the pan. Cook on one side until the eggs are set (the top will be runny still). Then, place pan in oven until the tortilla is light brown and firm to the touch (check after 5 minutes). Leave to set for 5 minutes, then turn onto a serving platter.

Simple Bruschetta

Question: Could there be a dish more expressive of the explosion of summer flavors that occurs when blazing sun meets fertile earth than a simple bruschetta? (I had a college roommate whose father once lived in Italy, and she informed me that it was pronounced "broos- KET-uh". But I guess it's tomayto, tomahto.)

This week, a friend gave me a few of her amazingly sweet vine-ripened tomatoes. I knew my husband would love it if I made this Italian classic for him. We even had some fresh basil growing in our herb box which matched brilliantly with the tomatoes. The only tricky part about this simple dish is making sure it is served immediately to prevent the juices from the tomatoes making the bread soggy. I'll share the method of my bruschetta madness, but will leave out specific measurements, as the amounts are flexible.

Simple Bruschetta

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Remove the juicy seedy parts from tomatoes and finely chop. Combine in a bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, thinly sliced basil leaves, sea salt and a few grinds of pepper.
3. Cut ciabatta bread into slices and place on a cookie sheet. Toast for about 5 minutes at 450F.
4. Rub a halved clove of garlic over the top of the bread slices. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the toasts with some extra virgin olive oil.
5. Top toasts with tomato mixture just before serving.

Best Egg Rolls in the Universe

Every Christmas Eve, my mom’s family gets together to celebrate. It’s an informal affair, with every family bringing some appetizers and cookies to share. Last year, I brought a dish that everyone liked- homemade egg rolls. They are more free form, similar to lumpia. I’d love to say I obtained the recipe from an aged Chinese master roller of eggs in Hong Kong, but as most people know, egg rolls are an American invention. Yet here they are, in all their glory! It is my Christmas gift to the world!

Stacy’s Egg Rolls

1 pound ground pork
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons fresh ginger root, grated
1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 quart oil for frying
1 1/2 (14 ounce) packages egg roll wrappers
1 1/2 cups sweet Thai chili sauce

Cook pork in a large wok over medium-high heat. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the cabbage, carrot, green bell pepper, onion, garlic and ginger. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and molasses until smooth.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok. Stir in cabbage mixture in batches, cooking each batch 3 to 4 minutes, just until tender. Return vegetables to bowl, and mix in pork. Stir in the cornstarch mixture.

Heat 1 quart oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

Place about 1 tablespoon filling on each egg roll wrapper. Fold one corner of wrapper over filling. Fold wrapper sides over filling. Roll wrappers to form egg rolls.

Fry egg rolls in batches in the hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve with sweet Thai chili sauce.