I’ve been guiltily purchasing prepackaged hummus from the super market to use in my wraps, and to help fill me up when I just know a salad will evaporate on contact. So, since I am at a point in my life where I am sick and tired of feeling guilty about anything, I decided to look up how to make raw hummus. It turns out that most of the recipes I found were surprisingly simple, and I happened to have (most of) the ingredients on hand.
The first thing I had to do was get my beans soaking. I had read somewhere that the enzymes in beans become dormant when the bean is in dried state, but as you begin to sprout the bean, then it enzyme activity is reignited. So, I soaked 1 cup of garbanzo beans for 8 hours or so in filtered, room temperature water. I then drained the beans well (make sure not too much water remains in the bowl or dish you use for this, your beans will start to stink–I KNOW!) and let them sit for another 8 hours before I rinsed and drained again. I repeated this process until I began to see the little nubs of sprouts start to wiggle their way out of the beans. You can let them sprout as long as you think is best, but at this point I took all my beans and began to make hummus.
Now, here’s the the basic “recipe” I followed:
- 1 cup pre-soaked and sprouted garbanzo beans.
- the juice of 2 lemons, freshly squeezed
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tsp of sea salt
- 1 carrot, chopped
- about 5 squirts of liquid aminos
Now here’s the beauty of making hummus, the basics are really simple. Anyone with a food processor can do it 1-2-3, but you could grind it by hand. I can’t say if it affects the end result, perhaps it does, but what I did was use a tiny food processor that I have. But basically, I just addedall of the ingredients into my food processor and pulsed until it was pretty darn well processed. The resulting mash did not appear quite as smooth as store bought hummus, and perhaps better equipped food processors could do a better job, but it was pretty well mashed, and for the most part smooth. I had to add dabs of oil, and a little water as well in order to keep the mixture from becoming overly thick in the food processor. Be prepared to do so as you process. I also ended up having to add more oil, hours later, after the hummus had settled. Garbanzos suck up so much moisture it is amazing.
Here’s a pic of the hummus in the food processor:
After I had processed it as smooth as could get it (adding extra oil helped a lot), I put it in plastic containers that I reuse from the supermarket, added some fresh red bell pepper on top for adornment, spiced it with some paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and then put it in the fridge to settle and to let all the flavors mingle and coagulate.
And, after it had sat in the fridge for about 2 hours or so, I took it out and decided to sample it as part of a salad I was making for dinner. The salad was pretty basic: assorted fresh greens cut into strips, grated carrot, chopped red onion, chopped red bell pepper, diced portabello mushroom, 1/2 Florida avacado diced, and of course, the raw hummus.
It was deeeeeeeeeelish! I will continue to tweek the hummus recipe and see if I can make it even better. It was good for a first try, but I would like to improve the creaminess of it. Part of me enjoys having to chew the bits of garbanzo here and there, but I have read that some people use raw tahini sauce to “complete” their hummus. I do believe that in authentic hummus recipes, that sesame seeds are used, and tahini is basically crushed sesame seeds mixed with oil. Next time I will definitely hunt down a small sack of seeds and add it in. As a matter of fact, I will be trying out several different flavoring ideas I already have. Stay tuned!
The wonderful blood orange, or Citrus sinensis, according to the Wikipedia entry, is quite the unusual fruit. I have had many of these fruits in my travels to both Spain, and Italy, and it is quite the treat when I find them here at the local market. I was able to purchase some for a reasonable price, and even though it is not “the season” so to speak, these oranges make quite the late night snack, and mouth refresher. Sometimes we need to break out of the monotony of eating the same fruits over and over, and I think using the blood orange not only lends itself to new flavors, but makes current dishes even better. For example, blood oranges can be used to make vinegrettes (with balsamic vinegar), and also they can be used in juicer mixes (like with carrots, apples, etc.). In Italy it is quite common for breakfast to be served with freshly squeezed blood orange juice (usually at room temperature). Yes, you will not find many chilled juices in Italy (especially southern Italy).
According to Wikipedia, “The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanin, a pigment common to many flowers and fruit, but uncommon in citrus fruits. Sometimes there is dark coloring on the exterior of the rind as well, depending on the variety of blood orange. The degree of coloration depends on light, temperature and variety. The blood orange is a hybrid of ancient origin, possibly between the pomelo and the tangerine. It probably originated in Sicily.” The taste is quite amazing. It is a warm, tangy taste, without the acidity of an orange, and the smooth taste of fruit punch.
“Sicilian Red oranges contain nutritional and preventive properties. As a result, growers incorporated blood oranges into their home remedies for centuries. Current research indicates that blood oranges are a good source of Vitamin C. The fruit’s red pigment, anthocyanin, is an antioxidant that reduces the risks associated with many ailments, including age-related illnesses. Blood oranges contain about 130 percent of the recommended amounts of Vitamin C, and diminish the risk of heart disease, some types of cancer and “bad” cholesterolcataracts, and aid in the body’s healing process. One medium-size orange contains 260 milligrams of potassium, 15 percent of the FDA’s daily recommendation. Potassium also lowers blood pressure, decreasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, helps to regulate heart rhythm, and affects body growth and maintenance. Eating a medium-sized orange provides 28 percent of the recommended daily amount of dietary fiber. Oranges provide more fiber than any of the top 20 fruits or vegetables. Oranges can also be a valuable source of iron, calcium and vitamin A.” build-up.
Some more pics of this tasty treat as I rip open the tasty flesh. Be warned, the juice will stain so be careful who you “splash”. Hahaha. Enjoy! (Notice the dark flesh. Ohhh so good)
When I saw these little guys in the market, I thought, they probably have a tomato like taste. Nope! These things are sweet sweet sweet! Delicious on its own. These are a variety of persimmon known as Hachiya, which is a Japanese cultivar containing a high tannin content before it has ripened. Lucky for me, the persimmon I bought were totally ripe and delicious when I bought them. I could tell when I picked them up as they felt sorta squishy inside. Had I gotten unripened ones, they would have had a super bitter taste due to the high tannin content which reduces as the fruit ripens. The taste when ripe is very sweet, somewhere in the taste spectrum of plum or pumpkin or dates. It really is quite a treat.
I could enjoy these as is for a treat without ever needing to find a more creative use for them. They are THAT good. But, in the interest of the blog, I decided to look up the culinary and medicinal uses of the persimmon. Here’s what good ole Wikipedia has to say:
Culinary uses
Persimmons are eaten fresh or dried, raw or cooked. When eaten fresh the peel is usually cut/peeled off and the fruit is often cut into quarters or eaten whole like an apple. The flesh ranges from firm to mushy and the texture is unique. The flesh is very sweet and when firm possesses an apple-like crunch. In China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam after harvesting, ‘Hachiya’ persimmons are prepared using traditional hand-drying techniques, outdoors for two to three weeks. The fruit is then further dried by exposure to heat over several days before being shipped to market. In Japan the dried fruit is called hoshigaki (???), and in Korea it is called gotgam (hangul: ??). In both places it is eaten as a snack or dessert and used for other culinary purposes. In Korea, dried persimmon fruits are used to make the traditional Korean spicy punch, sujeonggwa, while the matured, fermented fruit is used to make a persimmon vinegar (???) that is believed to have a wide variety of holistic properties. The hoshigaki tradition traveled to California with Japanese American immigrants. A few farms still practice the art, which is being revived in part through the efforts of Slow Food USA, which describes the technique on its site and provides links to producers. [5] [6] In some areas of Manchuria and Korea, the dried leaves of the fruit are used for making tea. The Korean name for this tea is ghamnip cha (???).
The persimmon also figures prominently in American culinary tradition. It can be used in cookies, cakes, puddings, salads and as a topping for breakfast cereal. Persimmon pudding is a dessert using fresh persimmons. An annual persimmon festival, featuring a persimmon pudding contest, is held every September in Mitchell, Indiana. Persimmon pudding is a baked pudding that has the consistency of pumpkin pie but resembles a brownie and is almost always topped with whipped cream. Persimmons may be stored at room temperature (20°C) where they will continue to ripen. It is also a native plant in Brazil, South America, where it is referred to as the Caqui.Ethnomedical Uses
* In traditional Chinese medicine the fruit regulates ch’i
* The raw fruit is used to treat constipation and hemorrhoids, and to stop bleeding. As such, it is not a good idea to consume too many persimmons at once- they can induce diarrhea.
* The cooked fruit is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery
So, after reading this, I decided I would just try to introduce the persimmon into the cabbage leaf wraps I have been eating lately. So, I cut up some red onions, tomato, jalapeno pepper, and garlic, added a spoon full of hummus, a sprinkle of sun flower seeds (or as I like to call them FUN FLOWERS…actually that is a lie, I never say that), a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar all wrapped up in a cabbage leaf. Here’s a picture of the finished product:
The persimmon blended so well with the jalapeno and hummus flavors. Something about the opposition of flavors made them work very well together, similar to how hot chocolate + cayenne pepper is surprisingly yummy). The tomato flavor was somewhat overshadowed in the mix and the red onions worked, but I am guessing something like ginger might be a better fit. The sprouts worked pretty well but something about the texture was a bit off. I’d like to experiment with other sprouts that better compliment the almost jelly like texture of the super ripe persimmon. The tatse of the garlic worked well with the hummus, jalapeno and persimmon as well, but I could take it or leave it depending on what else was in the wrap. I will definitely experiment using my remaining 2 persimmon is similar fashion. I was going to juice them, but I almost feel that would be a waste because the texture goes together so well with the sweet taste. All in all, this is a new favorite for me. I will definitely be including persimmon in my future shopping trips.
