Middle-Eastern Hummus Plate

I absolutely love Middle-Eastern food, especially hummus! I first tried this plate while living several years ago in Florida at a Mid-Eastern cafe, and found it quite easy to replicate at home. Although I suppose you could use store-bought hummus for convenience, I prefer to make my own, as it is easy and more nutritous (no preservatives, soaked chickpeas, etc...)

Here's the basic set-up for the plate:

Hummus

Whole Kalmatta Olives

Chopped Tomatoes

Sliced Red Onion

Sliced Cucumber, previously marinated in olive oil and a bit of apple-cider vinegar

Fresh Pita Bread or Naan

Tabbouli Salad

Here are the recipes for homemade hummus and tabbouli salad:

Hummus

2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight, simmered until tender

1 tbsp. garlic

1 tsp. garam masala (Indian-style spice you can find in most large supermarkets)

4 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. tahinni (sesame paste)

chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste

Soaking Step--in a large bowl, cover the beans with about 4 cups water and 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Soak overnight, draining water and rinsing well in the morning. Simmer beans until tender, about 2 hours.

Puree all ingreedients until smooth in a food processor. Chill 2 hours prior to serving.

Taboulli Salad

2 c. cooked whole-wheat couscous, chilled

4 tbsp. olive oil

4 tbsp. lemon juice

diced red onion, as much as you like

1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint

1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients to combine; Serve chilled

To assemble the plate: Place a good-sized scoop of hummus on the plate; garnish with tomatoes, olives, onion, cucumber and taboulli salad. Serve with pita or naan

For a tutorial on making your own tahini paste, go to this link:

www.grouprecipes.com/41754/homemade-ta (It's easy, and a lot more frugal than store-bought!)