Spiced Hummus Medley
It's Spiceweek here at CasterAzucar.com and I'm kicking it off with a vegetarian bang! I've made a hummus, fried and spiced with paprika and turmeric, sweet peppers stuffed with almond butter, noble sweet paprika and mascarpone, sweated courgette and coriander, and spicy Israeli cous cous. All this is cut through with a tangy green tomato fresh sauce. Recipe follows!
Ingredients (for 2)
400g Brined Chickpeas, drained
400g Brined Cannelini Beans, drained
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric
2 Teaspoons of Smoked Paprika
1 White Onion, roughly chopped
3 Crushed Cloves of Garlic
Juice of 2 Lemons
1 Medium Courgette, halved lengthways
White Vinegar
Dried Coriander Flakes
3 Tablespoons of Almond Butter
3 Tablespoons of Mascarpone
1 Teaspoon Sweet Noble Paprika
2-3 Sweet Little Peppers, halved lengthways
Half a cup of Israeli cous cous
Spicy Pimenton
2 Small Green Tomatoes
Small bunch of Parsley
Olives
1/4 Cup Almonds, crushed
Salt/Pepper/Olive Oil
Method
Make the hummus first. In a frying pan pour a thick layer of olive oil. On a medium heat gently saute the the onions and garlic until soft, then add the chickpeas and cannelini beans. Fry the chickpeas and cannelini beans until they're starting to go crispy in places, then transfer along with the onions, garlic and oil to a food processor. Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice, then tip the lemon juice into the food processor.
Start up the processor, and slowly pour in oil until it runs freely. Add a couple of pinches of salt.
On a dinner plate, pour a thin layer white wine vinegar, and sprinkle evenly with about 2 teaspoons of coriander flakes. Score the cut side of the courgette then place face side down on the vinegar for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, put the courgettes in a well oiled frying pan, cut side up, on the lowest heat and cover for 30 minutes.
During the 30 minutes we'll make all the stuff that goes with it.
For the stuffed peppers, simply mix the almond butter with the mascarpone and the sweet paprika. Mix in a pinch of salt, then fill in the cut peppers.
For the tomato sauce, (riffing on chimichurri), blend the 3 tablespoons of vinegar, olive oil, tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Make sure its a smooth consistency.
Finally, the spicy Israeli cous cous. In a frying pan in a generous amount of olive oil, toast the cous cous for a couple of minutes on a medium heat until lightly brown. Cover with 3 cups of water, cook until tender and the water has evaporated. Once it's "frying" again, sprinkle and toss in a teaspoon of spicy pimenton then take off the heat.
After half an hour of "sweating", increase the heat and flip to lightly brown the cut side of the courgette. Cut each into three.
And you're done! Spread some hummus across a plate. Put the courgette on with a sprinkle of salt on each, add the peppers, olives and garnish with the spicy cous cous. Pepper the plate, and sprinkle with crushed almonds. A smear of the tangy green tomato sauce to cap it off.
Enjoy!
