Hummus

Today I am going to introduce you to an Arabian recipe which is getting very popular in Spanish cuisine, perfect as an appetizer,  easy to prepare, not many ingredients and healthy, is there a better deal?

Ingredients

-500 gr. dried Garbanzos or Chickpeas.

-Juice of 1 Lemon (or to your liking)

-3 Tablespoons of Tahini.

-2 Garlic Cloves.

- A couple of pinches of Ground Cumin.

-Salt and Pepper.

-2 Tablespoons of EVOO.

-Fresh Parsley.

This recipe starts by soaking the chickpeas the night before, the next day boil them until they get soft.

Put in the blender bowl or in a food processor, the chickpeas,  the EVOO,  garlic and lemon juice. Grind all together until you get a smooth paste. Add the ground cumin, salt and pepper and Tahini and grind them again until all the ingredients are blended.

You can have it right away or put it in the fridge for a little while.

To serve pour it in a bowl sprinkled with a good EVOO, a pinch of paprika (if is it sweet or hot is to your liking) and some chopped parsley.

Accompanied with pita bread.

Note: You can substitute the dried garbanzos for baked meat eggplant, named as Mutabbal.

White Beans Stew with Clams (Fabes con Almejes)

Though it is chilly outside, the summer is coming. This stew recipe, typical from Asturias in the North of Spain, done with not many ingredients is perfect for a weekend day when you have enough time for a nap after.

Ingredients for 8 people:

-1 Kg (2 Lb.) of White Beans.

-1 Kg. 2 Lb.) of Clams.

-1 Onion.

-1 Bay Leaf.

-2 Garlic Cloves.

-1 Teaspoon of Sweet Paprika.

-Olive Oil.

-Salt.

Put the white beans soaking in cold water during a whole night. Next day place them in a pot along with the  onion cut  in 4 pieces, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the bay leaf, and cover all with new water.

Cook them on high heat until boiling, at this point lower the heat, keep the lid on and simmer until the beans are soft (around 2 hours). If the stew needs more water, always add cold water and never stir with a spoon, always move the pot.

Wash the clams and put them in a pan with water in the bottom to let them open. In a different pan fry the garlic cloves. When they are fried add the paprika and mix them all, pour it in a mortar and mash, adding a little bit of the water from the clams. Mix this sauce with the clams and their water and add this to the pot.

Add salt if needed and let it boil for 15 minutes or so, until the sauce gets thick.

                                                               

Lentils Stew with Spinach

Spain is a country with many rich legume dishes, above all they´re cooked in the winter season although this is an ingredient which we find more and more in summer fresh salads.

In this case, I added to the classical veggie recipe a touch of green color with the spinach.

Ingredients for  4 people:

-400gr. (15 Oz.)Lentils.

-250gr. (9 Oz.)Spinach.

-1 Scallion.

-2 Carrots.

-1 Leek.

-1 Green Bell Pepper.

-1 Garlic Clove.

-1 Bay Leaf.

-Salt.

-Spanish Olive Oil.

First of all make the refrito (veggies sauteed in oil) so, chop the onion, scallion,leek, green bell pepper and garlic and slice the carrots. Put everything in a pot with a little bit of olive oil and salt.

When the veggies are soft add the lentils and stir everything up to let the lentils absorb all the veggie flavors. With all the ingredients mixed,  pour water until it covers all of them and add the bay leaf.  Turn the heat up till it boils, after reduce it to medium heat and cook around 50 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

At that moment add the spinach and let it get softer with the remaining heat. Always it is even more delicious if you let it settle for a while. MMMMMMM!!!!

Lentejas, si quieres las tomas y si no las dejas!