israeli food – Basil & Roses

Simple Homemade Hummus

March 7, 2024 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 0 Comment

Homemade is better than store-bought. Period. While convenience is understandable, you’d be surprised how easy it is to whip up with a few ingredients. Not to mention the gratification of making it yourself — without added preservatives.

The key is high quality tahini. That’s the secret sauce, literally. Tahini is a velvety, luscious paste, with a delightfully nutty flavor derived from ground sesame seeds. We love it, here and beyond.

I often serve hummus with olive oil, paprika + za’atar. In this recipe a Persian-ish twist with dried mint, paprika + sesame seeds as a nod to the tahini inside. Feel free to get creative here: Crispy chickpeas. Mushrooms + thyme. Herby Schug. Pine nuts, preserved lemon + parsley. Olives + feta… and so on.

Ultimately hummus is wonderful as is — all you need is warm bread to swipe and grab the creamy goodness in a generous bite.

Ingredients —

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, or a 15-ounces can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Juice from 1 – 2 lemons, adjust to taste
1-2 medium garlic clove, finely chopped and mellowed in lemon juice
3/4 cup excellent quality tahini (i.e. Soom Foods or Seed & Mill)
4 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste

Toppings (optional)
Drizzle of high quality olive oil, a sprinkle or two of paprika, 2-3 pinches of crushed dried mint.

Preparation —

Chop garlic very finely and smash into a paste using the tip of a knife. Then place garlic paste in a small bowl and cover with enough lemon juice to submerge. Let mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow — approximately 10 minutes.

In a food processor or high-powered blender, add all of the ingredients and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy – about 1-2 minutes.

Scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary. Then taste, and adjust as desired — I almost always adjust the salt and lemon juice to achieve the most balanced flavor.

Scrape down the sides of the food processor again, and blend until the mixture is ultra smooth and creamy. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary for creamy texture and desired consistency.

Spread the hummus on a plate. Using the back of a spoon create “swoosh” patterns or channels for the toppings to spread across. Top with garnishes of choice, and serve with warm pita, crackers or raw chopped vegetables such as bell peppers, cucumbers and carrots.

Green Garden Herb Basmati Rice with Dill, Cilantro, Rosemary & Chive and an unexpected trip home

March 6, 2017 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 1 comment

Thanks everyone for the feedback on this recipe! Many of you asked for instructions on how to make our fragrant basmati rice without a rice cooker. We gave it a go and the results were equally wonderful with delicious tahdig (crunchy bottom) to boot!

The recipe utilizes the same ingredients as the rice cooker version. Here, I used a nonstick standard pot. Instructions are below. Feel free to share your results and happy cooking!

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked basmati rice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh chives, roughly chopped
Handful fresh mint, roughly chopped
Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
1-2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
2-3 tablespoons kosher salt
1-2 tablespoons coriander seeds (optional)

Directions:

Soak rice in cold water for 20-30 minutes.

Rinse rice with water, gently agitating with fingertips. Do this multiple times (3-4) until water runs clear.

Fill a large pot with water (approximately 15 cups and bring to boil. Add turmeric and salt to boiling water. Don’t worry about adding too much salt, it will be drained later.

Parboil rice for approximately 3-5 minutes until aldente (not fully cooked) and drain in a colander removing all liquid from pot. Liquid will be golden yellow from the turmeric so wear an apron!

Add oil to bottom of the same pot you boiled the rice in. Add coriander seeds if using.

Spread a handful of plain partially cooked white rice in the oil.

Add and layer herbs followed by a layer of rice repeatedly, creating several layers of rice and herbs and forming a tall heap or a cone shape.

Using the back of a wooden spoon, create 3 holes in the rice. This allows the rice to fry on the bottom creating the tahdig, while steaming the rest of the pot for light and fluffy steamed rice.

Cover the lid with a layer of paper towels to capture condensation and steam over medium low heat for approximately one hour, or until the steam rises and the tahdig is golden.

Once ready, serve the fragrant and beautiful rice pilaf with whatever protein you like.

I served it on the side of this delicious Food52 recipe from last week for chicken and Cabbage in a sheet pan– it was fantastic!

The kitchen will smell divine and your pallet will be pleased.

Enjoy!

Green Garden Herb Basmati Rice with Dill, Cilantro, Rosemary & Chive (and an unexpected trip home)

October 31, 2016 nmalekan@gmail.com Comments 2 comments

Rice is the ultimate comfort food. It has been farmed by people for over 10,000 years.

In the Hindi language “Bas” means “aroma” and “Mati” means “full of.” Growing up in a Persian family, that beautifully fragrant and earthy aroma is part of the essential scents of home. The cue of happiness and an eternal symbol of family dinners, celebrations and tradition.

Cooking traditional Persian rice (with crunchy tahdig of course) is truly an art form. For how to create a saffron scented masterpiece check out Persian Mama’s recipe here. For a simpler approach, I use a rice cooker. Not all rice cookers can deliver the crunchy golden goodness, however. Generally the Pars Brand rice cookers do the trick.

In this rendition, I highlight garden herbs using dill, mint, chive and rosemary for an aromatic rice dish guaranteed to feed the soul (nousheh jan...). But really you can use any herbs that you like.

On a recent trip to Philadelphia, we ate at one of the best restaurants on the scene in recent years: Zahav. Here Chef Michael Solomonov beautifully highlights modern Israeli cuisine. I was inspired by his vision, the story behind his culinary ventures and the flavors of the wonderful meal we had that October eve in the city of brotherly love. The menu excited my senses and my palate was dancing, curiously processing the familiar and the new. A colorful melody of flavors, humble, deeply flavorful food that was simply delicious.

What resonated the most were the familiar flavors of my childhood home found in smoky eggplant, coriander, warm bread, the grilled meats and tangy pomegranate. But most notably- in the herbed basmati rice. The Al’Haesh dishes (grilled over coals) are served with a side of basmati rice that was not only delicious, but momentarily took me home. This humble side dish became the center of what all the other plates harmoniously danced around. This beautiful little pot of rice had the power to transform me to another place and time. To the familiar places where we feel safe, comforted and loved. To where I remember being happy. To the quiet corners of memory, to our mother’s cooking and the taste of my grandmother’s love in an old kitchen in Isfahan. Maya Angelou says “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” I found myself at home in this beautiful experience, and I hope you do too by trying my basmati rice recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked basmati rice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh chives, roughly chopped
Handful fresh mint, roughly chopped
Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
1-2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt)

Directions:
Soak rice in cold water for 20-30 minutes.

Rinse rice with water, gently agitating with fingertips. Do this multiple times (3-4) until water runs clear.

Place rice in rice cooker.

Add enough water to cover 1″ above rice (about 2.5 cups).

Add olive oil, onion, all herbs, salt + pepper.

Mix ingredients and turn on rice cooker. Continue to mix ingredients couple of more times in the first 3-4 minutes if cooking so all ingredients are evenly spread throughout.

Let rice cooker do its magic!

Cook rice for approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hours, or until the indicator lets you know the cooking is completed. Timing can vary depending on the size and model.

That’s it! In about an hour you’ll have golden curst!

Once cooking is finished, unplug rice cooker.

Wearing oven mitts, place a platter larger than the rice cooker bowl over the bowl insert.

Lift bowl out and quickly and confidently flip the bowl and platter together.

Lift off the bowl slowly to reveal the Tahdig on top.
(Valiantly demonstrated by my cousin Payam, here).

Serve immediately: Tahdig loses crunch if it sits too long.

If you don’t have a rice cooker, see here for instructions on how to cook in a regular pot.