Chipotle Hummus and Homemade Pita Chips

Despite what Bon Appétit says, I make my own hummus every once in a while. They tested homemade hummus against store-bought hummus to see if homemade was worth the effort. They decided it wasn’t.

I’m all for picking up a container of hummus at the store if it prevents me from buying my version of crack: Helluva Good Dip bacon and horseradish dip or one of the many pimento cheeses available here in North Carolina. Once I start dipping, there’s no stopping me.

But sometimes on a weekend afternoon, I like whipping up my own hummus and homemade pita chips. Making your own pita chips is really easy and they taste so much better than packaged pita chips, plus they’re much less expensive.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that this household loves chipotle. It’s no surprise that I make chipotle hummus more than any other. I know Jim will eat it. He’s never shown much affection for any other type of hummus.

I developed this recipe myself after taking notes from several recipes online. It’s truly a mutt whose parents are forgotten. It works for me and I hope it works for you.

Chipotle Hummus

You’ll need a saucepan and a food processor or blender.

• 15 ounce can chickpeas — don’t drain
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt to taste

In a saucepan, heat the chickpeas in their liquid until warm. Drain the chickpeas, reserving their liquid. Place chickpeas, tahini, garlic, chipotle, lemon juice, olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder and salt into a food processor or blender. Blend on high until it’s smooth, adding a few tablespoons of the reserved liquid to make it really smooth.

If you wish, add more garlic, chipotle, lemon or salt to your taste. The flavor will get even better if you refrigerate it overnight.

Homemade Pita Chips

You’ll need a baking sheet. You can toss the wedges in oil on the sheet or in a bowl. I eyeballed all the ingredients. I only used enough oil to glisten the wedges and allow the oregano, salt and pepper to adhere.

• Pita bread
• Olive oil
• Dried oregano
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Slice each pita in half so you have two sides. Then slice each half into wedges, as big as you like. I usually split the wedges in two (top and bottom) so I have more chips.

Toss the wedges with oil then spread them out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until toasted and golden. Serve the chips warm or at room temperature.

Maple Sage Walnuts

Late weekend afternoons are perfect for a book, a glass of craft beer or wine and a snack. I like to plan ahead and have the ingredients for a healthy snack recipe on hand, like Eggplant Caponata or White Bean Dip with Homemade Pita Chips. Otherwise, if I go to the supermarket with low willpower and a growling stomach, there’s a good chance I’ll grab a container of pimento cheese or bacon-horseradish dip. Not that there’s anything wrong with that every once in a while, but not every weekend.

I found this recipe for maple sage walnuts on the Food 52 blog. Plain nuts are a great snack, but when you roast them with herbs and spices, they’re fabulous.

Walnuts are good for you too. According to Eating Well magazine, walnuts have a high level of “an omega-3 fatty acid that can help improve arterial functioning. Their high mono- and polyunsaturated-fat content also helps reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels while maintaining healthy HDL cholesterol levels.”

So eat up! If you live in walnut country, I envy you. I still remember the walnuts I bought at farm stands outside Sacramento. I was amazed how much better they were than regular supermarket walnuts.

During the week I sometimes snack on plain walnuts between lunch and dinner, but this recipe is for the weekends. I adapted it a bit by adding a little heat (cayenne) and salt, and reducing the amount of maple syrup and brown sugar.

The walnuts will stick to the parchment as they cool, so give them a few tosses to keep them loose. We ate half of them before they made it to a container.

Looking for other good walnut recipes?

• Linguine with Walnut Pesto
  
• Walnut Rosemary Crusted Chicken
• Use walnuts instead of pine nuts in a pesto.
• Add walnuts to quick breads, like Cranberry Bread or Banana Bread.
• Add walnuts to dinner or side salads.

Maple Sage Walnuts

You’ll need a sheet pan (or cookie sheet), parchment paper, small bowl and cup.

• 2-1/2 cups raw walnuts halves or pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons egg white (about one egg white)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Toss walnuts and sage in a small bowl. Mix egg white and maple syrup in a small cup. Add to walnuts and stir well. Sprinkle the brown sugar, cayenne pepper and salt over the nuts and toss to coat the nuts completely. Spread the nuts out in one layer on the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring a few times, until nuts are nicely toasted. Slide parchment off the hot cookie sheet onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Store any you don’t eat in an airtight container.

Adapted from: Maple Sage Ice Cream with Maple Sage Sugared Walnuts, Food 52

Eggplant Caponata

Here’s another wow-oh-my-god-I-looove this recipe. I made it last Saturday afternoon. We noshed on it while watching Cliff Lee (Phillies pitcher) hit a home run. Yes, I said pitcher, and yes, he hit the ball, and yes, it was a freaking home run! What a moment! Despite myself, I’m becoming quite a baseball fan. Who would’ve thunk it?

I’ve had caponata on my weekend snack list for a while. In the early evening Friday while doing a little beer and wine shopping at my Lowes Foods, I checked out their discount produce rack. I love the treasure hunt aspect of this rack. Sometimes it contains really scary looking stuff or it’s bare, but occasionally I hit the jackpot.

Once again the produce buyer must have gone wild with the red bell peppers because they had a cart full of them – packages of three for $1.59. Score! I also spied a package of assorted skinny eggplants for less than a buck. At last, caponata!

I’ve only had caponata a few times but really love it. A restaurant in the DC area served it alongside homemade breadsticks to every table. Maybe Paolo’s? It has a strangely sweet yet hearty flavor. I could easily eat a bowl for dinner.

Next time I’m going to chop the vegetable even more finely so the caponata spreads more easily. I added red bell pepper to the recipe because I had so many in house and I thought they would add nice color and flavor to the recipe. And I added garlic because, well, just because. I also added fresh oregano because my oregano plant is growing ten times faster than I can use it. You could also add more olives (green or black). Caponatas I’ve had in the past were heavier on the olives than this recipe. I thought the rest of the original recipe’s ingredient ratios worked well.

Give this a try. It’s a healthy alternative to a creamy dip and just think of all the vitamins you’re getting. Pour a glass of sangria, grab a baguette and start chopping!

Eggplant Caponata

• Olive oil
• 1-1/2 pounds of eggplant, peeled, cut into 1/2” pieces (or smaller)
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano (or more), or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small red onion, chopped (almost 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup (or more) chopped red bell pepper
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 tablespoon drained capers
• 1-1/2 tablespoons (or more) chopped green or black olives (I used Kalamata black olives)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce or puree
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Baguette, sliced (optional – toasted)

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the eggplant, oregano and salt and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a bowl.

Add the onion, red bell pepper and more oil, if needed, to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until just beginning to golden. Return the eggplant to the skillet. Stir in the capers, olives and balsamic vinegar and cook until the vinegar has evaporated. Add the tomato sauce and cook over low heat, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl to cool. We ate it lukewarm because we couldn’t wait. It’s also fine just out of the refrigerator.

Serve the caponata on slices of baguette. It can be refrigerated for up to three days.

Original recipe: Eggplant Caponata Crostini, Food & Wine, January 2007

White Bean Dip with Homemade Pita Chips

In my mission to nosh on healthier snacks than Snyder’s Jalapeno Pretzels, I’ve come to rely on hummus with celery sticks. I love hummus but I’m getting tired of the same thing all the time, so I’m looking for easy alternatives. Have I given up my jalapeno pretzels? I wish I were that strong, but when they’re on sale and I have a coupon, how can I resist?

Bean dips (without cheese) are a good healthy choice. If you google “white bean dip,” you’ll see many variations with different herbs, spices or lemon. This version from Serious Eats is described as Provencal but I saw many others described as Tuscan. I honed in on this one because it mimics a dip the writer enjoyed at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Yountville, CA.

I’ve never dined in Keller’s restaurants – Bouchon, French Laundry, Per Se or Ad Hoc. Before I moved to California, French Laundry in Yountville was his only restaurant, yet I could never plan my trips west early enough to get a reservation. By the time I moved to California and could afford his restaurants, I was no longer into high dollar dining. However, I once indulged in many treats from his Bouchon Bakery.

When my brother turned 40, his wife took him on a surprise (blindfold and all) weekend trip to Napa. They took a hot air balloon ride, visited wineries and then had mud baths and massages in Calistoga Springs. Later that evening, a few of us surprised him by joining them for dinner in Yountville. Good times. The next morning I loaded up my front seat with Bouchon goodies for the drive back to Sacramento. Way too many pastries for the miles.

That was as close to Keller as I’ll ever get. I used to own his first book, The French Laundry Cookbook, but never made a thing in it. I appreciate his genius and wouldn’t think of turning down a meal at any of his places as long as someone else is paying. There’s a chapter in one of Tony Bourdain’s books about a night at The French Laundry that shows why dining can be more than just a meal. Crazy good food.

This simple bean dip is more my style. It’s a snap to make, although you do have to plan ahead because you’ll need an hour to roast a head of garlic. Adapt it to your taste: add lemon; drizzle it with olive oil; sprinkle it with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper or fresh herbs.

You could serve this with celery or other crudités, but I had a hankering for pita chips. Since I had time to kill while the garlic was roasting, I made my own instead of paying $4 for a little bag. Best pita chips ever! I’ll never buy them again. Jalapeno pretzels on the hand? I’m making no promises.

White Bean Dip

You’ll need a small baking dish and food processor.

• 1 15-ounce can cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Leaves of 1 stem of fresh rosemary
• Leaves of 3 stems of fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

To roast the garlic, slice off the top quarter of the garlic, drizzle a bit of olive oil into the head, wrap in foil and bake at 350 in a baking dish for 1 hour. Once it’s cooled enough to handle, unwrap and squeeze the flesh out of the skins.

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season to taste.

Original recipe: Provencal White Bean Dip, Serious Eats

Homemade Pita Chips

You’ll need a baking sheet. You can toss the wedges in oil on the sheet or in a bowl. I eyeballed all the ingredients. I only used enough oil to glisten the wedges and allow the oregano, salt and pepper to adhere.

• Pita bread
• Olive oil
• Dried oregano
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Slice each pita in half so you have two sides. Then slice each half into 8 wedges. Toss the wedges with oil then arrange them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until toasted and golden. Serve the chips warm or at room temperature.

Photo by Christine Leiser

Smoky Spicy Fried Chickpeas

My favorite store-bought snack is Snyder’s Jalapeño Pretzel Pieces. They’re addictive, especially when you’re drinking beer. Imagine hand to bag to mouth over and over and you’ll get the picture.

As much as I love my jalapeño pretzels, I rather snack on something a bit healthier and homemade. That’s why I’m over the top excited to have finally made this recipe. I remember long ago seeing Michael Chiarello cooking fried chickpeas on a PBS cooking show. At the time I thought, huh, that’s easy enough and looks really tasty, but I never made them until this weekend while watching the NHL All-Star red carpet show that preceded the Skills Competition.

My house is always Canes crazy but last weekend Raleigh hosted the All-Star game so the whole area was hockey crazy. Downtown streets turned into a pedestrian-only zone with bands, beer garden, artisan tent, food vendors and all kinds of other activities. The highlight for us was the free and fantastic Three Doors Down show in the downtown amphitheater.

If you’re looking for a quick easy and highly flavored snack for the Super Bowl this weekend, this is the answer. I like things a bit spicy, so decrease the cayenne pepper if you’re not a chile head. Our Super Bowl spread will include these chickpeas plus a sinfully delicious-looking Gooey Cheeseburger Dip from Serious Eats. If you’re still looking for recipe ideas, check out this list from the Providence Journal of Super Bowl party recipes from newspaper food sections across the country.

Smoky Fried Chickpeas

You’ll need a colander, paper towels, large skillet – a deep one will help prevent splattering, slotted spoon and serving bowl.

• 1 large can chickpeas
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1-2 lemons, zested into strips – I don’t think you can overdo the lemon because it will be countered by the heat
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, divided
• 1 tsp smoked paprika – I used hot smoked paprika, but I’m sure sweet would be fine too
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Drain chickpeas and place on a paper towel-lined colander to dry. This can be done well in advance; refrigerate the peas in a covered container until you’re ready to use them.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large pan. Add garlic slices and sauté until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Add ½ cup olive oil to the pan and heat until the oil bubbles up around a test chickpea. In batches, add lemon zest, thyme and chickpeas. I did mine in two batches. Fry each batch about 5 minutes, until chickpeas are crispy and brown. Remove chickpeas with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander lined with paper towels.

In a bowl toss chickpeas with the garlic, smoked paprika, salt and cayenne pepper, adding more spices or salt, if desired. Serve warm.

Adapted from: Food 52, Smoky Fried Chickpeas