Moroccan Spiced Hummus with Oven Baked Flat Bread Chips

Moroccan Spiced Hummus

Love hummus but never have had the nerve to make it yourself?  Let me tell you that it is neither time consuming, nor difficult!  Hummus is healthy and just about anything can be added to it to tickle your tastes.  I have flat bread rounds in my freezer so I have decided to make hummus with a North African spice blend and I am certainly pleased with it.  I have made hummus prior to this a few times, one with roasted red peppers and garlic, one with tomato, garlic and basil, one with Pakistani spices and now this, with Moroccan spices. Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients

2 14.5 ounce cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed

1/4 teaspoon Moroccan curry spice

1 rounded tablespoon of garam masala*

3 cloves garlic, grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (or more)

1 teaspoon dried or fresh oregano

Add all of the spices into a small skillet over medium heat to toast.  Once aromatic, add the spices to a spice grinder and process. Set aside. 

Rinse the garbanzo beans, or, hominy, in a strainer and set aside.  Add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (evoo) in your food processor with the garlic and one tablespoon of the garam masala*. Garam masala is a luxurious, aromatic mixture of ground spices and herbs and leaves.  You can find it at many grocery stores nowadays, but I prefer to purchase my spices at a local Middle Eastern grocery store where I know the ingredients, oftentimes in one bag, are authentic.  It includes paprika, coriander seed, cumin, fenugreek leaves and more. 

Now, add half of the garbanzo beans to the food processor and another tablespoon of evoo and a teaspoon of the spice blend. 

Process the first batch of the garbanzo beans until a paste forms on the perimeter of the processor bowl. Add another drizzle of evoo, another layer of the spice blend and process, again, until it is a paste clinging to the perimeter of the processor bowl. Repeat if you have another batch of garbanzo beans to process.  

Use a spatula to remove the hummus and place it into a container for future use or a bowl for serving. 

Add another drizzle of evoo atop the hummus and garnish with one of your favorite herbs. I used sage this time as my oregano has perished in the summer heat on my westward facing patio.  Sad me. I also added a gentle pinch of finishing salt. 

I will be serving this tomorrow with flat bread wedges oven baked drizzled with evoo, rosemary and grated garlic.  Stay tuned for the updated blog post!  I am posting this now by request!  

What best goes with Hummus?  Flat Bread Chips, oven baked with evoo, rosemary, garlic and smoked sea salt!  Simply take a package of round flat bread, use a pizza cutter to slice two rounds (three tears) of flat bread (or pocketless pitas!) like a pizza, into wedges.  Drizzle evoo or spray evoo non-stick spray onto foil placed over a baking sheet.  Sprinkle the salt, rosemary and garlic atop the foil.  Now, arranged the chips over the foil. Drizzle evoo atop the flat bread wedges and repeat with the salt, rosemary and garlic atop of the wedges.  Bake for ten minutes at 375-degrees.  When the wedges come out, they are still pliable, but, they will harden when allowed to rest, so do not bake more than ten minutes. 

Prior to baking......

And after baking.  Let cool about five minutes before serving or placing in a container. 

I hope you have enjoyed these simple, flavor-loaded recipes. If you make them both at once, you will be done within an hour, tops!  Now, you have no reason to be afraid to make hummus and, you now know how to make your flavor-packed serving chips!

As always, I am ever humbled and grateful for your visit.  Now, go cook something for someone you love!

~Martin

In-House Cook

Italian Mac n Cheese in Personal Ramekins

Mini Farfalle Italian Mac n Cheese in Personal Ramekins

While that is a complicated, really big title, this dish is anything but complicated.  However, it has big flavor that will satisfy any palette. I grew up eating Mac and Cheese.  My mother used to make it once a week.  It was a buck-stretching staple during tough times, and, it was fairly easy for my mom to make after her own long day of work. While my mom seldom strayed from her own recipe for mac n cheese, except for adding deep sweet purple beets to the top of it, now and then to add a veg, which I disliked, I have strayed far from it and have added myriad ingredients to my different mac dishes. Search my recipes and you will find that I have written two or three, maybe more, mac n cheese recipes. Whether it was my mom's mac n cheese or my own, my favorite part remains the crispy cheesy top with cheese bubbling all around it as it fragrantly comes out of the oven. 

I have made Mac n Cheese with hot dogs, roasted green chiles, sweet roasted red peppers, chicken, Spanish chorizo and more.  This recipe, however, is by far my favorite.  For this recipe, I have toned down the ingredients list but kept delightful flavors. I decided on an Italian theme, and decided that less is more.  That theory proved correct!

Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients:

1 pound mini farfalle ('bow tie") pasta

1.5 cups buttermilk 

3-4 tablespoons flour

1/2 stick of butter

3 + 3 separated tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound mild Italian ground sausage

4 sprigs fresh thyme 

2 sprigs fresh oregano 

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic + 1 grated or finely chopped

2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 palm of salt for the pasta  water

1.5 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Fontina cheese

1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

non-stick spray

You can purchase the cheeses already grated at most grocers and you can do without the fresh herbs, but you know me, I love to use fresh herbs whenever possible. Many grocery stores also now sell onions and garlic, among other veg, finely chopped already, if you do not have time nor the inclination to chop and grate them yourself. Excellent for those with time constraints, folks on-the-go and convenience, overall!

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.

Add at least four quarts of water to a large pot over high heat to bring to a roiling boil. 

Now, in a large skillet, add three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (evoo) over medium-high heat and crumble and brown the sausage.  Add the onion and garlic, reserving the fourth clove, to the skillet. Add the fresh herbs and all but a teaspoon of dry Italian seasoning. Once done, set aside off the heat. 

By now, the pot of water should be at that roiling boil.  Add about half a palm full of sea salt to the water and stir. Add the pound of mini farfalle, also known as "bow tie" pasta to the pot and stir to prevent sticking. 

Mini bow tie pasta takes 8 minutes to cook until soft. Reserve half a coffee mug of the pasta water and strain the pasta in a colander. 

Place the pot over medium heat and add the other three tablespoons of evoo and the half stick of butter. Add the teaspoon of dry Italian seasoning and garlic to the butter and evoo.  Whisk.  Once the butter begins to foam, add the flour and whisk vigorously to prevent flour clumps. 

Next, add the buttermilk and whisk.  Once incorporated, it will very soon start to boil around the perimeter of the pot. Add the sausage and incorporate well.  Add the mozzarella and, set the whisk aside and use a large wooden spoon to fold in the cheese.  "Folding" means to turn over the mixture rather than stir.  Next, add the Fontina cheese.  Fontina is a soft cheese, perfect for melting. Fold the Fontina in with the mozzarella.  By now the mixture will really begin to thicken.  You may get an arm work-out!  If you need, add a little more milk, a splash at a time, to help loosen it up, and I do mean a splash!  

Watch me whisk......Watch me nae nae!

Now add the Asiago cheese and fold.  At this point, add a good splash of the reserved pasta water. This will slightly loosen the heavy mixture, and slightly is the goal.  It should be thick. 

Finally, add the pasta and the remaining pasta water from the mug and fold in the pasta thoroughly. 

Now, spray four -  six personal ramekins with olive oil non-stick spray.  Add a little water to a roasting pan so that it just covers the surface area of the pan. Add a heaping spoon full of the mac and cheese to a ramekin and top with a little grated parmesan cheese. Drizzle with a little evoo. Repeat until all of the ramekins are filled. Stagger them in the roasting pan and place the pan into the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes.  The water adds a bit more moisture and protects the ramekins from cracking. 

And when time's up, the top of the mac and cheese will be golden brown and crispy and amazingly flavorful.  It is truly amazing.  The flavors of Italia will waft through the kitchen and home when you open the oven and carefully remove the pan. And be careful! Remember, there is hot water in it!!!

Let the ramekins rest about eight minutes out of the roasting pan.  Top with fresh chiffonade basil and enjoy!  

The Mini Farfalle is PERFECT for this dish!!!

When I decided on this dish, I could not help but think about my dear friend, Morgan, who LOVES Mac n Cheese, and for some reason, I have never made it for him.  So Morgan, this one is for you!

As always, THANK YOU, friends, for your viewership and readership, your time and consideration.  I am grateful for all of you!

Now, I hope you are suffering about wanting to get to the pantry or store to make this dish!  Go!  Go cook for someone you love!!!!  

~Martin

In-House Cook

Pesto Farfalle Pasta with Marinated Skirt Steak and Tomatoes

Pesto Pasta with Marinated Skirt Steak and Tomatoes

I have been planning and preparing dishes that are simple to prep, expeditious, healthy and above all, flavorful. Despite one's dietary restrictions, there are myriad spices and sauces to use to induce flavors and tenderize meats without degrading one's restrictions. With this healthy eating thought process in mind, and with the support of my dear friends, Lee and Selena, I have created this dish that can serve four - to - six easily, four big appetites or six average average appetites. 

This dish is simply bowtie (farfalle) pasta tossed with butter, extra virgin olive oil, fresh halved baby tomato medley, grated parmesan cheese and pesto.  The skirt steak is marinated for an hour and then seared until a crust forms on either side. The prep is minimal and the actual cooking is easy and slightly staggered so you have time to attend to other things in the duration of the cooking. 

Let's get to it, shall we?  

Ingredients for the Skirt Steak 

1 16 - 20 ounce skirt steak

1/2 teaspoons of each salt and pepper + half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, separated

4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

4 tablespoons Mirin

2 tablespoons Ponzu

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + three tablespoons, separate

2 tablespoons minced garlic

If you can, allow the steak to marinade for an hour, turning the steak after thirty minutes.  If you can marinade it longer, say two or three hours, that would be even better, but, an hour produces amazing flavor and tenderness of the steak. 

Simply add the three tablespoons of evoo to a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil ripples, add the steak and sear six or seven minutes per side. Steaks thicker (on the thick side) than 1.5-inches, sear eight or nine minutes per side.  Remove from the steak from the skillet to a plate or cutting board and allow it to rest.  

Meanwhile, on a burner over high heat, add four quarts of water to a large pot and bring to a roiling boil.  Liberally salt the water and stir.  Add one box or pound of farfalle, or, "bowtie" pasta to the water and stir to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot.  

Here are the other three ingredients I used for my pasta:  

1 jar pesto   (I did not have time nor resources to make my own, sadly)

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 pint of halved baby tomato medley

2 tabs of butter

2 tablepsoons extra virgin olive oil

Boil the pasta about ten minutes, maybe twelve, until the pasta is done.  I would normally say until al dente, just before done, but, having made this pasta this way before, it is best to boil it until it is thoroughly done and soft.  The pesto flavors and tomato flavors are absorbed more effectively when it is done. Strain the pasta and, while the pasta is draining, add the butter and evoo to the pot with the heat turned off.  Add half of the pesto and the tomatoes and stir.  Add the pasta to the pot and the rest of the pesto and the half of the parmesan cheese and toss to combine.  

Working it like a Boss! Haha!!!😎

Let the pasta rest a few minutes to allow the flavors to marry while you slice the steak. I put the steak on a grooved board to catch any escaping juices. After slicing the steak, add the other half of the parmesan to the pasta, stir again, and plate the pasta on a serving platter for family style, if you wish, and arrange the steaks atop the pasta, sprinkle with six chiffonade fresh basil leaves (ribbons) and serve.  

Your family, loved ones and guests will be thrilled and will enjoy the savory flavors and not worry about their wastelines. While I used a whole wheat pasta, you can reduce the calories and carbs even more so by using rice flour pasta.  

A little closer view. 

Morgan will love this, too!

******  

I want to throw in another shout out to my bestie, Sonja, who brought me lunch a good week ago, turkey and cheese wraps with cherry tomatoes.  She created yet another healthy and deeeeelicious wrap, similarly, with basil.  Just wanted to share this with you.  These are so perfect for someone who is on the go, busy life, little time to make lunches.  Thank You, Sonja!!!

Sliced turkey, mozzarella, a little dijon mustard, basil leaves on a whole wheat tortilla. Deliciousness!

Maniacal looking me with Sonja, left, and another awesome bffff, Brittany, right. 

As always, my awesome readers and viewers, Thank You for your time, consideration and support.  You all amaze me and I cannot be more grateful for YOU!!!!

~Martin

In-House Cook