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BASIL PESTO HUMMUS



    Living in Middle East for number of years, I have learned a lot about the rich Arabian heritage and food culture. I learnt how to make a classic hummus from a Lebanese friend of mine who is a great neighbour – we exchange a lot about history and cultures of our homelands. I added a different spin with homegrown basil, to make it different from the usual creamy hummus. This version works so well as dips and in wraps! Trust me, hummus is a staple dish that everyone who lives in the Middle East must know how to make – a mezze platter is never complete without a beautiful and rich homemade hummus!


    Recently hummus has gained a lot of popularity for being vegan-friendly and rich source of protein, and the best part is that it's easy to change it up and experiment with delicious new flavours! Check out the recipe for my Classic Hummus here, and my Sun-dried Tomato Hummus here.



    PREP TIME: 10 minutes

    MAKING TIME: 5 minutes

    YIELDS: 500g approx./ one medium serving bowl



    INGREDIENTS

    • 1x400g can chickpeas

    • 2 cloves garlic

    • 2-3 tbsp tahini paste

    • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

    • 1/4 tsp salt or to taste

    • 1/4 tsp paprika

    • 2 tsp lemon juice

    • 1 tbsp brine water in which chickpeas are preserved/ fresh water

    • 7-8 sun-dried tomato halves

    • 2-3 sprigs of thyme leaves

    For garnish:

    • 3 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips

    • 1 tbsp chickpeas for garnish

    • 2-3 sprigs of thyme leaves

    • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil



    METHOD

    1. Drain the chickpeas from the can and reserve the water and a tablespoon of chickpeas.

    2. In a food processor bowl, add chickpeas, garlic, tahini, sun-dried tomatoes, thyme leaves, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, paprika and reserved water. Blend them together until slightly textured and not silky smooth. Add an extra tablespoon of reserved or fresh water if you find it too thick to blend.

    3. Take out in a serving bowl, swirl with the back of spoon to make a well in center. Drizzle the olive oil, and garnish with sun-dried tomato strips, thyme leaves and chickpeas. Serve


    COOK'S NOTES

    • Classically hummus is made by boiling the overnight soaked chickpeas with water and a bit of salt. Let them cool and using the rest of the recipe’s ingredients to make the classical hummus.

    • Reserve the water from the boiled chickpeas to adjust the consistency of the hummus or the brine water from the canned chickpeas. Add a tablespoon extra if you find chickpeas are clogging to loosen up the consistency to blend better.

    • Boiled chickpeas can be puréed and preserved by keeping it in airtight ziplock bags for later use.

    • Defrost or thaw the chickpea purée before blending with other ingredients to make hummus.

    TOMATO AND WALNUT PESTO TART



      Make every day gourmet with this flavourful tomato tart that’s sure to satisfy your senses with the beautiful combination of Italian flavours from basil pesto and ricotta cheese filling.


      This tart was entirely made from home grown organic produce. Almost everyday I’m plucking these beautiful tomatoes from my backyard and try to make use of them in all different recipes...whether it’s in soups, curries, pastas, chutneys, jams, sandwiches, wraps or in salads, pretty much in everything you wanna add that kick of tomatoes.


      This exotic looking rich crust tart is filled with ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano layered with walnut basil pesto, which is again made from fresh basil growing in my backyard. To play with the summer’s bounty, I added all different colours and sizes of tomatoes and it looked sooo pretty, and tasted divine. A subtle hint of thyme in the crust adds a different dimension of flavours to the tart.


      Either make it as big tart for sharing, or just individual ones, they surely will grab the attention when served at your tea or dinner party.

      SERVES: 6-8

      PREP TIME: 30 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 55 minutes to 1 hour

      PASSIVE TIME: 30 minutes



      INGREDIENTS


      For Pastry:

      • 250g/2 cups of plain flour

      • 175g unsalted butter, cold and diced

      • 1/2 tsp salt

      • 1/4 tsp dried thyme

      • 2-3 tbsp cold water

      For Pesto:

      • 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves

      • 75g Parmigiano Reggiano, chopped

      • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

      • 2-3 cloves garlic

      • 1/8 tsp salt

      For Ricotta Filling:

      • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

      • 3 tbsp low fat creamy feta cheese

      • 1/4 cup Parmigiano Regianno, grated

      • Pinch of salt

      • Freshly cracked black pepper

      For Tomato Layer:

      • 8-10 mixed colour and different sized firm tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

      • 2-3 tsp Balsamic vinegar

      • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

      • 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

      • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

      • Few basil leaves for garnish



      METHOD

      1. In a stand mixer bowl, sift flour, add salt, thyme and butter, blend them together with paddle attachment until it resembles breadcrumbs.

      2. Add water and blend for few seconds until the dough combines and form a ball. Do not over work the dough.

      3. Remove the dough on a floured surface, gently knead to bring everything together, take care not to over work the dough. Wrap it in a cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

      4. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

      5. Take the pastry out from the fridge, remove cling wrap and place it on a floured surface.

      6. Roll the dough in a 7 x 16 inch rectangle. Lift and wrap the pastry gently from longer end around the rolling pin and transfer by unwrapping on the loose based rectangular tart pan. Press the pastry into the pan and trim any excess around the edges.

      7. Line the pastry with parchment paper, spread baking beans on top and blind bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper and bake further 5 minutes until the pastry is crisp. Remove to cool slightly.

      8. As the pastry is baking in oven, make pesto sauce by blending all ingredients together in a bender and keep aside.

      9. Make the ricotta filling by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep aside.

      10. Take 5 tbsp of pesto sauce and spread on the cooked pastry. Pour and spread ricotta cheese filling on top. Arrange tomato slice, overlapping slightly on each other. Season it with kosher salt and pepper and drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.

      11. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, garnish with basil leaves, cut into slices and serve warm.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • I made this tart with plain flour but you can certainly make it gluten-free by replacing the plain flour with gluten-free flour.

      • Balsamic vinegar gives a slight sweet note to balance the tartness of the tomatoes. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar handy, drizzle little honey instead.


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