Even More...

Continuing the updates we now move into November...

November 12, 2009

Middle Eastern Stew & Hummus Pitzas

Greg and I became very keen on a easy way to make homemade hummus after our friend Erin told me she simply crushed up chickpeas one day to make a hummus-esque snack. After she told me this, we ran home, crushed up chickpeas with garlic, olive oil and some salt and pepper and voile, we had delicious homemade hummus. Couldn't be simpler. From this, we came up with an idea inspired somewhat by the "pitzas" served at one of our fav restaurants in in NYC, Moustache. Paired with it, we made a middle eastern inspired stew with mixed vegetables. In this entry I will supply the recipe for our pitzas but will forego the stew which I don't remember clearly enough. These pitzas can be made just like a typical pizza with any type of topping you like. At Moustache you can indulge in pitzas topped with ingredients such as roasted red peppers, ground lamb, sundried tomatoes, leeks, scallions and more. See the link to their website above to see all their indulgent options.

Ingredients:

- Tortillas or wraps, any size and type

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Garlic

- Fresh tomato, diced

- Fresh bagged arugula, chopped

- Can of chickpeas

- Sour cream

- Shredded mozzarella cheese

- Ajvar red pepper spread

- Paprika

- Salt

- Black pepper

The first step to making any pizza is the base, your crust. To simplify life (and for the sake of the non-existent budget we're always on) we repurposed mexican tortillas meant for burritos, wraps or tacos and baked them to become our version of a pita-like crust. Even better than pita, these baked pieces of tortilla are thin and crunchy instead of being thick (and most likely higher in calories).

Turn on your oven to 375 degrees and let preheat. Take the number of tortilla's which seems appropriate for your serving size and cut into individually sized triangle shaped pieces. Lay these slices out on a baking sheet which has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. When your oven is preheated, put the cooking tray in and let cook until pieces are golden brown (10 - 15 minutes maybe?).

While the tortillas are baking, you can make your hummus and cut your vegetables. The first step will be to pour your can of chickpeas into a large bowl of some kind. Then, using the back side of a fork slowly crush the chickpeas. This takes some elbow grease but when they're finished they should be an even consistency that is smooth but will still have chunks in it. That's okay. Add about a tablespoon of sour cream and the spices to taste. Now begin to mix and also crush again with the fork until the mixture is as smooth as you want it. Taste and put to the side.

By now your tortilla slices should be ready. Take them out of the oven and apply an even layer of hummus to each. Then spread an even layer of the ajvar red pepper spread on top of the hummus layer. On top of that, sprinkle some of the shredded cheese. At this point, you can leave the the pitzas to the side while you dice your fresh tomato and cut your fresh arugula into little strips. Once that's finished dress each pitza with a layer of arugula and then a layer of diced tomato. Pop these in the oven and you're all ready to go!

M