It’s that time of the year again: parties. Book clubs, parent socials, and team dinners are all on the agenda for fall. And, believe it or not, the holidays are right around the corner. In fact, I just published a post on Inspired Home, the International Housewares Association’s helpful resource for everything having to do with your home, with the recipe for my famous cranberry relish for your Thanksgiving table. That’s right, I said Thanksgiving.
Tonight I am going to a cocktail party for the parents in JR’s class organized by another one of the room parents. I welcome the chance to get to know the mothers and fathers I wave at on the playground every day. JR’s teacher has even kindly agreed to stop by with her husband.
As a room parent, I felt a responsibility to contribute to the party, so I offered to bring an hors d’oeuvre. Another guest had already claimed the cheese plate, the world’s easiest hors d’oeuvre, so I had to go another direction.
Because of my fondness for Middle Eastern flavors, I decided to make hummus. As a dish for a party hummus has the advantage of being vegan and gluten-free, which makes it a good choice for people with dietary restrictions. When bringing a hors d’oeuvre for a large group, some of whom I do not know well, I like to choose something with as broad appeal as possible. (Of course, I am well aware that anyone with a sesame allergy, like my Zuzu, cannot eat hummus, but other than that it is still a pretty welcoming dish.)
I know that you can buy hummus at any grocery store in America — a fairly recent development, I would like to point out — but it is truly a snap to make your own at home with fresh ingredients and no preservatives. The cheapest way is to start with dry chick peas and soak them overnight, but I promised you a quick and easy hummus recipe, so we will start with canned chick peas.
Cook the chick peas in water until soft, maybe only ten minutes, and then process into a smooth spread with tahini (also store-bought), lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. I always reserve some of the cooking water from the chick peas in case my hummus is too thick. At IFBC, the food bloggers conference I attended in September, I won this gorgeous 2-quart straining saucepan with pour spouts from Anolon and it makes draining the chick peas and reserving the cooking water a snap!
The hummus was so quick and easy to make that I decided to make another classic Middle Eastern spread to bring to the party as well: baba ganoush. I will post that recipe later in the week.
Hummus is delicious with soft, warm pita as well as crunchy crudités. This recipe makes a generous amount, enough for two bowls. So serve one bowl with pita and another with your favorite raw vegetables. I chose some seasonal vegetables from my CSA share like carrots, radishes, and red peppers. Leaving the tops on the carrots and radishes makes for an attractive presentation.
What parties are on your schedule this fall? What will you make for them?
Ingredients
- 2 15-oz cans chick peas, rinsed and drained
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
- 5 cloves garlic
- Juice and zest of two lemons
- Salt to taste
- Olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Place the drained chick peas in a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Add baking soda.
- Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer until tender, about ten minutes.
- Drain the chick peas, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
- Place chick peas, tahini, garlic, lemon zest and juice and salt in a food processor and process until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add some of the reserved cooking water.
- If possible, make the hummus in advance to allow the flavors to develop.
- Prior to serving, taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Drizzle with olive oil and dust with ground sumac.
- Serve with pita or raw vegetables.
[…] your baba ganoush with warm pita triangles or fresh crudités. Even better, make a batch of hummus and a batch of baba ganoush to serve together as a mezze for your next cocktail or dinner party. […]