humshuka

wheat harvest is underway! yee haw. eggboy has been spending his days plucking wheat from the stalk and i’ve been spending my days using it all. well not the exact wheat that he picks on that day but just wheat in general. cause baking is fun. so in other words it’s business as usual for me, but a little bit more business since eggboy’s days are longer and when he works longer i work longer because normally i just work until he comes in for supper. and he’s been coming in for supper at like 9! look at us, staying up late like teenagers. 

i have been taking some time to get out of the house by going to the gym though and watching the olympics from the treadmill. go simone! go aly! go equestrian people who wear the most elaborate fancy downton abbey-era costumes and can make their horsies trot in such mesmerizing/majestic/superhorsey ways! and if they had an olympic event for best farmer's tan, eggboy would win right now fyi. i think one year i’d like to go to the olympics and go hospitality house hopping. i’d probably go to a winter olympics though because of the ice skating. 

today i’m posting a recipe for this great awesome tasty thing that my friend inbal introduced me to in tel aviv last week, hummus with shakshuka on top. humshuka! i saw it a little while ago on green kitchen stories but only ate it for the first time in tlv and it was so mind blowing. the hummus came together with the tomato sauce to become like a creamy hearty tomato soup, and of course a runny yolk never hurts in that situation. i feel like this would be the *perfect* sunday brunch so, yay, happy weekend and here are your brunch plans!  

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humshuka

makes 3-4 bowls

1 c dried chickpeas

1⁄2 tsp baking soda

1 tb lemon juice

1⁄2 c tahini

3⁄4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste 2 cloves garlic (optional)

1⁄4 c cold water

1 batch shakshuka (recipe follows)

chopped fresh parsley, for serving

freshly baked pita, for serving

onion wedges, for serving

in a medium bowl, cover the chickpeas with enough water to reach 2 inches above the height of the chickpeas and soak them for 12 hours. 

drain and rinse the chickpeas and place them in a large saucepan with the baking soda. cover them with 1 to 2 inches water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the chickpeas are very soft, about 2 hours. drain them and let cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor. 

add the lemon juice, tahini, salt, and the garlic (if using) and blend until very smooth, about 1 minute. with the motor running, drizzle in the water and continue to blend for 2 to 3 more minutes. taste and season with additional salt if needed. 

spoon into bowls, creating a large well in the center. top with shakshuka and fresh parsley and serve with pita and onion wedges.

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shakshuka

serves 3-4

3 tb olive oil, plus more for drizzling 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped 

kosher salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tb ground cumin 

1 tsp harissa, or more to taste (different brands vary in spiciness) 

1⁄4 tsp smoked paprika

black pepper 

crushed red pepper

1 tb tomato paste 

1 can or carton (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes 

1 tsp sugar

3-4 eggs

in a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. add the garlic, cumin, harissa, smoked paprika, a good pinch of salt, a few turns of black pepper, and a pinch of red chili flakes and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. stir in the tomato paste, then the chopped tomatoes and sugar and bring to a simmer.

create 3-4 little wells and crack in your eggs. either baste the eggs by spooning the hot tomato sauce over them, or just let them be in a sunny-side-up situation. when the whites are cooked but the yolks are still runny, remove from the heat. Sprinkle the eggs with a little salt and black pepper.

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-yeh!

shawarma nachos + friday links

in the transit system of my candyland-esque dream world, there is a polar express, there is dim sum ferry, and there is a nacho train, complete with bulgogi nachos, california roll nachos, and my local pizza parlor, where it is rumored that there is a secret menu where you can order any of their pizzas as nachos. (i've yet to experience this first hand, but it's on my life list, right after "eat an animal style milkshake.")

so this is me jumping on the nacho train with all of my favorite israeli snackies piled onto pita chips in a very trashed up fashion because that is part of the charm of nachos, no?

nachos can have a lot of components, and that can be slightly overwhelming for such a drunk-food dish, but i've found that all it takes is a wee bit of prep the night before. and then once you make them you'll have a ton to either share with friends or to have as leftovers throughout the week when your farmer fiancé is busy harvesting wheat until midnight. (wtf! i know!)

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shawarma nachos with hummus, labneh, and israeli salad

serves 6-10

ingredients

shawarma

6 tb olive oil

1 tb curry powder

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp chicken soup mix

about 1.5 lbs boneless chicken thighs

hummus

3/4 c dried chickpeas

1/2 tsp baking soda, for cooking the chickpeas

6 tb tahini, or more as desired

6 tb olive oil

the juice from 1/2 a lemon

kosher salt, to taste

optional: 2 cloves of garlic

labneh

4 c plain full-fat yogurt

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

tahini sauce

6 tb tahini

1/3-1/2 c ice water

1 tsp lemon juice

pinch of salt

israeli salad

2 medium or large tomatoes

1 cucumber

1/2 red onion

salt and pepper, to taste

a splash of olive oil

a squeeze of lemon juice

for serving

a large bag (18 oz-ish) of pita chips, bonus points if you make your own though

fresh parsley

za'atar (optional)

hot sauce (optional)

clues

the day before:

-prep shawarma: in an 8-inch baking dish, whisk together the shawarma marinade (the olive oil, curry powder, garam masala, and chicken soup mix) and coat the chicken with it. cover the dish and stick in the fridge to marinate overnight.

-prep hummus: place the chickpeas in a lidded saucepan filled with cold water. cover and soak overnight.

-prep labneh: mix the yogurt with the salt and place in a cheesecloth that is draped over a strainer. place the strainer in a dish to collect the liquid and place it in the fridge to strain overnight.

-make tahini sauce (this can be made the day of or the before): whisk or use a food processor to mix together tahini, ice water, lemon juice, and salt. add more or less water depending on desired consistency. tip: i like making a ton of this stuff and keeping it in a squeeze bottle in my fridge to use as salad dressing.

the day of:

1. make the hummus: strain the chickpeas and add fresh water so that it comes 1 inch above them in the sauce pan. add the baking soda. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 2 hours, until the chickpeas are very soft. strain them and whiz them up in a food processor with remaining ingredients.

2. make the shawarma: while the chickpeas are boiling, preheat oven to 400f. bake the chicken, uncovered, for 45 minutes. chop into small pieces and fry it up in a bit of marinade until browned and crispy.

3. make the israeli salad: chop up tomatoes, cucumber, and onion, and toss with salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice, to taste.

4. assemble! on a large plate, layer your chips, labneh, hummus, shawarma, and isaeli salad. drizzle on tahini sauce. sprinkle on parsley, za'atar, and hot sauce.

enjoy!

note: this shawarma recipe is based on the one from one of my most favorite cookbooks, janna gur's the book of new israeli food. the book surprised showed up on my doorstep one morning from one of my good friends lydia, who is an amazing photographer. follow friday to her!!!

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and here are just a few friday links!!

i'm completely obsessed with these moon cakes.

i've watched this my brightest diamond video 12,000 times.

obviously one cannot marry a norwegian in the winter without wearing the opi nordic collection.

fall food. fall food!!!

(ok but first these bacon wrapped peaches and beignet ice cream sandwiches!)

"if you want to share a particularly inspiring item, you literally share it."

i cannot wait to make this matcha marble pound cake and these halva stuffed figs.

everything is better with romesco.

edible terrariums are going to be the focus of my next craft night.

happy friday all!!!

-yeh!!!

p.s. there are still a few days to enter my seriously delish giveaway!

RECIPE: THE BEST HUMMUS

i have so many things to say about hummus and i have no idea where to begin. i know where to end and that's the part where i give you a really fantastic and easy recipe for the hummus that i am licking straight out of the bowl right now. it is that good. i should save some for eggboy though because he gobbles this stuff up with a spoon (he won't even touch store bought hummus). speaking of eggboy, that is a good place to start with my life as it relates to hummus: 

1. on my first nighttime date with eggboy, i ate hummus. i am pretty sure that is the reason that later that night i (accidentally) farted the loudest fart i ever did fart. i was the most amount of embarrassed i've ever been and i thought he would never want to see me again and i stressed out about it for days. but then rob pointed out that a cool thing about eggboy is that he doesn't care about that stuff at all, and to this day he hasn't said a word about it. 

2. prior to eggboy, i briefly dated a human who studied in israel, and he turned his nose up at all hummus made in america. i didn't get it. i thought he was a snob, and i enjoyed sabra hummus (or what brian calls "the kraft cheese of hummus"). but then i had hummus in israel and it all became clear (more on this later).

3. i once went to a halloween party in bushwick where everyone rode homemade bikes and threw hummus at each other.

4. i love hummus so much. i make it almost every week.

ok now that we have these established and you know that i fart, let's discuss a few ground rules with hummus. i learned these rules at a goat farm in israel from janna gur, who is like israel's ruth reichl. 

1. american hummus is bad. americans put too much crap in their hummus, like corn  and  jalapenos and artichokes and it is too often served cold.

2. hummus is: freshly cooked chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon, and salt. maybe garlic.  

3. hummus must be made fresh right before it is served, and it should be at room temperature or even still slightly warm from cooking the chickpeas. if there are leftovers, they should only be kept for three days.

the hummus in israel was simply something else. it was nuttier, more flavorful, magical. it was elegant in a most personable and happy way. i'd pay good money to be back on that little sidewalk in front of abu hassan, sharing bowls of hummus with some of my favorite humans. 

the best hummus 

when it is freshly made, this hummus comes close to the amazing hummus that i ate in israel. it takes quite some time to prepare the chickpeas, but all of the hands-on steps are easy peasy. 

ingredients 

3/4 c dried chickpeas

1/2 tsp baking soda, for cooking the chickpeas

6 tb tahini*

6 tb olive oil

the juice from 1/2 a lemon

kosher salt, to taste

optional: 2 cloves of garlic

clues 

cover the chickpeas with about 2 inches of water and soak overnight, or for 12 hours. transfer to a large sauce pan and cover with an inch of water. stir in the baking soda and bring to a boil. cover and let simmer for about 2 hours, until the chickpeas are soft.

drain the chickpeas and measure out 2 cups into a food processor, reserving extra for garnish, if desired. add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic (if using) and a good pinch of salt. blend! adjust salt, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil. enjoy with warm fresh pita. 

*update 3/17/2014: i've recently found myself adding more and more tahini. sometimes i even use a one-to-one tahini-to-chickpea ratio. if you'd like to add more tahini for a creamier consistency and more nutty taste, go for it!  

-yeh!