Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen (42 page)

hummus

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Y
ou can buy some very good prepared hummus in almost any grocery store or deli these days, but it’s fun (and much cheaper) to make your own. This homemade version keeps for about a week if stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator, especially because you will be coating the surface with a serious slick of olive oil. You’ll need a blender or food processor for this. If you use a blender, you may need to work in batches and/or add a bit of water at the start to get the puréeing going.

1.
Set a colander in the sink and pour in the chickpeas. Give them a quick rinse and allow them to drain.

2.
Put the chickpeas and all the remaining ingredients except the olive oil and cayenne in a blender or food processor, and purée to form a thick paste. Taste the hummus to see if you want to add more garlic or salt.

3.
Transfer the hummus to a container with a tight-fitting lid (or put it in a decorative bowl) and smooth the top. Pour a little olive oil on top, and tilt until it coats the entire surface. Cover (with plastic wrap, if using the decorative bowl) and refrigerate until ready to use. Allow to come to room temperature before serving. Sprinkle the top with a light dusting of cayenne, and serve.

DISCOVER TAHINI

Sesame tahini is a flavorful paste made from pulverized sesame seeds. It comes packed in jars and can be found near the peanut butter and other nut and seed butters in the grocery store. When you first open the jar, the oil will likely have separated from the solids. Just patiently stir it back in. Once the jar has been opened, store tahini in the refrigerator, where it will keep indefinitely. In addition to using it in hummus, try it as a spread on its own, or thin it with a little water, add a touch of garlic, some lemon juice, and minced parsley, and use it as a sauce for vegetables or grains—or as a dip.

peppy pepitas

Makes 8 to 10 servings

P
lain hulled pumpkin seeds are among the world’s best snacks—delicious and nutritious, not to mention interesting, exotic, and not too filling. This recipe adds sexy, mouthwatering, and mysterious to that list. A slow stovetop toasting in lots of olive oil with whole cumin seeds and chiles infuses them with flavor, and a sprinkling of salt and lime juice takes them over the top. These keep for up to a week, stored in a resealable bag or tightly covered container at room temperature. Or you can store them indefinitely in the freezer, sealed in a heavy resealable bag. So keep this in mind, and make an extra batch or two to freeze. Then you’ll always have something impressive to serve your friends for a snack when they drop by on short notice. (They will thaw very quickly at room temperature.)

1.
Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet over medium-low heat, and add the olive oil. Let it heat for about a minute.

2.
Add the pumpkin seeds, cumin seeds, and chiles or red pepper flakes. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to slowly stir until everything becomes evenly coated with the oil. Keep cooking, stirring every few minutes, for a good 20 minutes (possibly even a little longer), until the pumpkin seeds give off a strong toasty aroma and most of them are gradually becoming a light golden brown.

3.
Continue to cook on medium-low heat just long enough to stir in the salt and then splash in the lime juice, which will sizzle. Turn off the heat, and wait about 5 minutes for the seeds to absorb the lime juice. Taste, and add more salt if you think it’s needed.

4.
Remove and discard the whole chiles, put the seeds in a bowl, and serve warm or at room temperature. Or cool completely and transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag for storage.

CHILES DE ÁRBOL

Dried chiles de árbol (the small, thin red ones) are available in Latin grocery stores, in many supermarkets (often in the Mexican section), or online. They are fairly hot and quite pretty. Because they are left whole in this dish, they don’t give off a huge amount of heat—just enough. Dried chiles keep for months and look very attractive in a bowl on the kitchen counter. If you like their flavor but want milder heat, split them open before using them and discard the seeds.

slightly sweet cajun-spiced nuts

Makes 6 to 8 servings

S
erve these wonderfully complex glazed nuts on their own or with cheese, and definitely with drinks of any kind. You can also use them, whole or chopped, as a topping for other dishes. Or wrap them in colorful paper or put them in old-fashioned glass jars, and give them as gifts. I originally made this with walnuts, and then tried pecans and cashews. Then, thinking about cost, I tried peanuts, which sell for about a quarter the price of other nuts. They were all fabulous. The large pan is essential for this, because the nuts need maximum contact with the spices in order to become thoroughly coated. Open a window and turn on the stovetop fan before you begin. When you add the vinegar to the hot pan, there will be fumes! These store for up to 2 weeks in a tightly sealed container at room temperature, or indefinitely when sealed in resealable plastic bags and kept in the freezer.

1.
Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Let it heat for about 30 seconds, then add the butter and swirl until it melts.

2.
Sprinkle in the cumin, ginger, chili powder, and thyme, and slowly stir the spices into the buttery oil with a wooden spatula or a wooden spoon. Keep the heat steady while you stir for about 2 minutes, or until the spices are fragrant.

3.
Add the nuts, spreading them out in the pan. Sprinkle in the salt, and continue cooking and slowly stirring for about 2 minutes.

4.
Sprinkle in the brown sugar, and continue to cook and stir for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sugar begins to melt and is just starting to adhere to the surface of the pan. (Scrape as you go, and if necessary use a table knife to scrape off the soft sugar coating that will likely have adhered to your wooden stirrer.)

5.
Pour the vinegar into the pan. It will sizzle dramatically. (Don’t inhale near the pan at this moment.) Keep stirring for another 30 seconds, and you will see that the vinegar is deglazing the pan, loosening up all the tasty stuff that has stuck to its surface. Turn off the heat, and wait about 5 minutes for the nuts to absorb the vinegar.

6.
Transfer the nuts to a bowl and let cool until they are at a comfortable tasting temperature. Taste to see if you think they need more salt, and adjust accordingly. Serve right away, or allow to cool and then transfer to a resealable plastic bag for storage.