Berbere Spiced Hummus

After discovering a plethora of Ethiopian foods and spices at a little store 2 blocks away from us we decided to try a few new items.  I immediately grabbed the berbere, which I knew from eating the berbere beef from my favorite food truck.  We ended up with a sizable tub of it and it's become a spice that we use with a lot of foods.  Berbere is a spice blend and it's similar to a chili powder but along with the spicy chiles it could have paprika, garlic, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, or more, all combined into one delicious red powder.  The version we got also has some nice heat.  I thought it would be a good addition to the hummus I was making for our superbowl party, and I was correct in my prediction.  It was also a great opportunity to try out a new hummus tip I had read about- peeling the chick peas.  There's an easily removable skin that pops right off of the chick pea if you squeeze it between your fingers.

We'd never been able to make a really smooth hummus and supposedly peeling the chick peas does the trick.  

I tried it out and we definitely noticed a big difference.  Our guests loved the final product!  And so did we.

Ingredients:

• 1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
• 2 teaspoons berbere spice (or more, to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup olive oil (or more... we didn't measure it)

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the chick peas, berbere, pepper, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Pulse until well combined.  

homemade tahini

The mixture should be a bit dry.  Slowly add more olive oil until it smooths out to your desired consistency.  We didn't measure as we were doing this, but it seemed to be a lot.  Taste for more salt. Our berbere spice was slightly salty so I didn't need as much as I would usually use.  Serve with more berbere sprinkled on top and a drizzle of olive oil.  As always, homemade pita chips were the perfect pair to eat this delicious hummus!  The berbere spice was a nice change to your regular hummus recipe.  Double or triple the recipe for a larger crowd.  This amount is good as an appetizer for about 6 people.

Sesame Cookies

I know what you're thinking... sesame seeds and cookies don't really go together.  That's what I thought too, but out of desperation for something to make with our leftover homemade tahini, I came across this recipe on Epicurious.  I was hesitant, but I didn't want it to go to waste so it was really my only option.  The cookies turned out great- they had a delicious nutty flavor and almost melted in your mouth.  The sesame seeds on the outside didn't overpower the actual cookie either.  Have these with some blackberry jam for a fancy twist on peanut-butter and jelly.  These little cookies were so tasty that it would be worth it to make tahini just for them!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup tahini

1 t vanilla

1/2 cup sesame seeds (white or black) for rolling (Again, I recommend getting these from a Hispanic or Japanese grocery store so they aren't as expensive)

Directions:

In a stand mixer (or by hand) mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Then, add tahini and vanilla and mix. 

Next,  add baking powder, salt, and slowly incorporate flour until mixture is well combined.  (It will be a bit crumbly.)  Form it into a ball or log, and wrap it up in plastic wrap.  Chill for one hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your pan with parchment paper.  Begin forming tablespoon-sized balls with your hands and roll them in the bowl of sesame seeds.  We started with white sesame seeds, and then decided on a white/black combination.  There's no difference in flavor between the two.

Place the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet, about 2 inches a part. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are puffed and starting to crack on the outer surface.  Remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet an additional 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.





Enjoy with a glass of milk!

Tahini

This recipe would go in a category I call "why buy it when you can make it?"  Tahini is a sesame paste, made solely of toasted sesame seeds and oil.  You grind the mixture in a food processor and end up with tahini!  If you aren't familiar with tahini, it is an ingredient used mainly in Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern foods.  It has a consistency similar to natural peanut butter.  Most commonly for us it is used in hummus, which we love to make from scratch.  Tahini is a key ingredient in hummus and I used to buy it from the store for the very expensive price of $8 a jar!  It has much stronger flavor when you make it from scratch, and if you can find decently priced sesame seeds it is insanely cheap.  We get our sesame seeds from either the Hispanic or Japanese grocery stores because they have the best prices.   After our first time making tahini, we also used it for sesame cookies which were surprisingly tasty. 

Ingredients:

2 cups sesame seeds (you can change this amount depending on how much you want to make)

1/3 cup olive oil 

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Toast sesame seeds by placing them on a baking sheet or stone and cooking  for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly toasted without browning.   If your sesame seeds are already toasted, I would still recommend toasting for an additional 3 minutes.  Let them cool slightly before continuing. 

Place sesame seeds in a food processor.  Pulse for 3-5 seconds.  Begin adding oil and continue to blend until the consistency has come to that of a natural peanut butter.  It should be smooth without being saucy.  The tahini I've purchased at the store is much smoother than this version, but in a food processor I think this is the closest you are going to get (and it won't make a difference in your recipe.)   Add a pinch or two of salt to bring out the flavor.  Done! Keep in a covered container at room temp for 4-5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.