Jump to content

"Jerusalem" Israeli/Palestinian Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi


Rieux

Recommended Posts

Spurred by the Sabra listeria recall, I *finally* made the hummus recipe.  So stupid easy that I'm not sure it's even worth buying hummus from the store anymore.  After the overnight soak, the chickpeas cooked in about 40 minutes...then I left the kitchen and all the water boiled away and the chickpeas kinda turned to mush (see I said it was stupid)...

Anyway, even the chickpea mush worked well.  I used a mortar and pestle to incorporate the garlic, lemon, tahini, and parsley.  I basically took the Jerusalem recipe and used this video from Abu Shukri for the technique.

I only used half of my chickpea mush, so I put the rest in the freezer and I'm going to see if that will be usable for making hummus next week.  Figure, if you cook the chickpeas in balk you could then freeze packs of cooked chickpeas and then have them on hand to make weekly batches, since the cooking of the chickpeas is the most time consuming part.

post-44-0-63747900-1428956519_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spurred by the Sabra listeria recall, I *finally* made the hummus recipe.  So stupid easy that I'm not sure it's even worth buying hummus from the store anymore.  After the overnight soak, the chickpeas cooked in about 40 minutes...then I left the kitchen and all the water boiled away and the chickpeas kinda turned to mush (see I said it was stupid)...

Anyway, even the chickpea mush worked well.  I used a mortar and pestle to incorporate the garlic, lemon, tahini, and parsley.  I basically took the Jerusalem recipe and used this video from Abu Shukri for the technique.

I only used half of my chickpea mush, so I put the rest in the freezer and I'm going to see if that will be usable for making hummus next week.  Figure, if you cook the chickpeas in balk you could then freeze packs of cooked chickpeas and then have them on hand to make weekly batches, since the cooking of the chickpeas is the most time consuming part.

attachicon.gifHummus.jpg

Try using canned chickpeas next time. Talk about stupid easy--especially if you use a food processor. Then you will really reconsider buying hummus from the store.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spurred by the Sabra listeria recall, I *finally* made the hummus recipe.  So stupid easy that I'm not sure it's even worth buying hummus from the store anymore.  After the overnight soak, the chickpeas cooked in about 40 minutes...then I left the kitchen and all the water boiled away and the chickpeas kinda turned to mush (see I said it was stupid)...

Anyway, even the chickpea mush worked well.  I used a mortar and pestle to incorporate the garlic, lemon, tahini, and parsley.  I basically took the Jerusalem recipe and used this video from Abu Shukri for the technique.

I only used half of my chickpea mush, so I put the rest in the freezer and I'm going to see if that will be usable for making hummus next week.  Figure, if you cook the chickpeas in balk you could then freeze packs of cooked chickpeas and then have them on hand to make weekly batches, since the cooking of the chickpeas is the most time consuming part.

attachicon.gifHummus.jpg

Such a great recipe. I'm going to play around with cooking the chickpeas in a pressure cooker without a pre-soak.  Not sure how the baking soda will come into play in that situation, but we'll see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a great recipe. I'm going to play around with cooking the chickpeas in a pressure cooker without a pre-soak.  Not sure how the baking soda will come into play in that situation, but we'll see.

I was taught to pre-soak my short-grain Kokuho Rose California-"Japanese" rice to lessen the starch. Is this a similar concept, or is it to soften them? Do chickpeas even have starch? Really, it wasn't a "soak" so much as a multi-iteration "washing," with the most starch being removed during the first iteration, etc.

I wonder how much flavor this method removes.

I only used half of my chickpea mush, so I put the rest in the freezer and I'm going to see if that will be usable for making hummus next week.  Figure, if you cook the chickpeas in balk you could then freeze packs of cooked chickpeas and then have them on hand to make weekly batches, since the cooking of the chickpeas is the most time consuming part.

I love hearing things like this, as I was raised by depression-era parents. My thoughts would be, 'Unless it's completely ruined by this, it's better to have a lesser chickpea mush than no chickpea mush.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught to pre-soak my short-grain Kokuho Rose California-"Japanese" rice to lessen the starch. Is this a similar concept, or is it to soften them? Do chickpeas even have starch? Really, it wasn't a "soak" so much as a multi-iteration "washing," with the most starch being removed during the first iteration, etc.

As I understand it, the pre-soak for dried beans is really to soften them.  There are some claims that by soaking, and then cooking in fresh water, some of the "digestive" problems that can arise with eating beans are lessened, but I don't think that's a settled question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made the Pureed Beets with Yogurt and Za'atar (pg 53) back in December.  We enjoyed it quite a bit.  I had to make a couple of substitutions: red pepper flakes for the chile and maple syrup for the date syrup, but otherwise made it as written.  I served it as a dip with crackers and pita, but did not bother with the garnishes.  The recipe says to serve at room temperature, but I preferred it somewhat chilled. The garlic was a bit overwhelming, so in future I'd halve the amount.  Also, the color of the dish in the photo in the book is a beautiful, dark aubergine.  The color of mine was more of a raspberry, which is fine for a dessert, but which I find less appetizing in a savory dish.  Next time I might cut back on the yogurt in hopes of getting a darker color in the final product.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On April 13, 2015 at 4:22 PM, Tweaked said:

Spurred by the Sabra listeria recall, I *finally* made the hummus recipe.  So stupid easy that I'm not sure it's even worth buying hummus from the store anymore.  After the overnight soak, the chickpeas cooked in about 40 minutes...then I left the kitchen and all the water boiled away and the chickpeas kinda turned to mush (see I said it was stupid)...

Anyway, even the chickpea mush worked well.  I used a mortar and pestle to incorporate the garlic, lemon, tahini, and parsley.  I basically took the Jerusalem recipe and used this video from Abu Shukri for the technique.

I only used half of my chickpea mush, so I put the rest in the freezer and I'm going to see if that will be usable for making hummus next week.  Figure, if you cook the chickpeas in balk you could then freeze packs of cooked chickpeas and then have them on hand to make weekly batches, since the cooking of the chickpeas is the most time consuming part.

post-44-0-63747900-1428956519_thumb.jpg

I left the chickpeas in a little too long and ended up with some mush as well. As with you, it made no difference. I was trying to follow the recipe (it's something I'm taking to a party later), but managed to botch a couple of the steps. It still came out amazing.  I also consulted Moosewood and used her amount of chickpeas and tahini (not that different from Jerusalem). I hadn't made the Moosewood recipe in a long time, but I like the dash of tamari it calls for. Of course, the bottle I was using was one without a poorer apparatus in the top, so I used a bit more than a dash. Another oops that did no damage to the final product.

My biggest takeaway from the Jerusalem recipe is adding that ice water at the end. Since I had a little more chickpeas and a little less tahini, I used 7 Tbsp instead of 6 1/2. OMG. The texture came out like cake frosting. So incredible.  That has to be the difference, as I've never gotten that smooth a texture before (plus he does tell you to process a iong time).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think "Jerusalem" is definitely one of his best books so far.

A rant though:

15626046_1368266713224075_90647655709856836_o.jpg.9d2778ee0c3ce1eb51dab8173780ecd3.jpg

If you're sautéing 2 cups of thinly sliced onions in 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat, they're *NOT* going to turn golden brown in 10-15 minutes no matter how many times the cookbook says, not unless the laws of physics don't work anymore.

10272558_761185387265547_3076312032262781511_o.jpg.b9349304d97908f9ac648b974fd4c128.jpg

Chard with yogurt, tahini and buttered pine nuts, pgs. 88-89.

11896517_1013027308748019_5137129744274781367_o.jpg.c1277b7ee2455de485390f96b79a691e.jpg

Maqluba, which we thought rather underwhelming

12140987_1029327983784618_6569064515926641903_o.jpg.6b281c58029db14a164df124be40fea6.jpg

Wild sea bass with harissa and rose petals

15591637_1368424469874966_2755011170628139736_o.jpg.9f9fcc441685f70998e2053796946052.jpg

Chicken and cardamom rice (photo taken before we added herbs and Greek yogurt)

15731964_1370685756315504_8901531047805849983_o.jpg.ac3086e2434b659eb569b563a99a7b71.jpg

Fattuosh

17917767_1491216954262383_4723563163124836852_o.jpg.6f7cab98813a60c7054387b6dd9465ab.jpg

Fried tomatoes with pipelchuma and poached egg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On December 9, 2017 at 8:27 PM, TrelayneNYC said:

 

10272558_761185387265547_3076312032262781511_o.jpg.b9349304d97908f9ac648b974fd4c128.jpg

Chard with yogurt, tahini and buttered pine nuts, pgs. 88-89.

Thanks for the recommendation. I made a half portion of this last night with red Swiss chard. It looked very Christmas-y with the red and green.  It was quite good.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...