Turkish Hummus & Greek Tzatziki

Every single time I buy hummus, I always think to myself, "Why am I buying this? It is so easy and so cheap to make!" And, then I still buy it. I think it's because once upon a time Baptiste and I tried to make hummus at home in the blender (and the first rule of at-home hummus production is: Don't use a blender. Use a food processor!  The ground chick peas are just a little too thick/dense for the average blender, as we quickly learned...) and the whole thing exploded. Everywhere. We were both plastered with hummus and I was scraping hummus off the ceiling and out of the cupboards for several days after. Well, that was about 5 years ago and it has taken me that long to get over the experience! Anyway, with access to a good food processor or even a nice conversion blender, hummus and tzatziki are very easy to make. I often like to keep these two in the fridge for dipping veggies and as alternatives to mayo on sandwiches.

Turkish Hummus
Turkey, makes 2 cups

In Turkey, hummus is made without the tahini used in Middle Eastern versions. This makes for a lighter version, with garlic and lemon juice and savory with cumin.

1 c dried chick peas (garbanzo beans) rinsed and soaked in 4 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight; or 2 cups drained and rinsed canned chick peas.
4 c water (if using dried chick peas)
Salt
2-4 garlic cloves (I usually go a bit heavy-handed on the garlic, but I only used 3 cloves and it was very garlicky. Next time I might just use 2 large cloves.)
1 t ground cumin seeds
4 T extra virgin olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice (more to taste)
3 T drained yogurt (I used about 5 T undrained regular plain yogurt)
1/2 t Aleppo pepper (I used paprika, which is not as spicy as Aleppo.)

1. If using dried chick peas, drain and combine with the water in a large saucepan or pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and summer for 1 hour. Add salt to taste (about 2 t) and continue to simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain. (I skipped this step since I used canned chick peas.)

2. Turn on a food processor fitted with a steel blade and drop in the garlic. Process until the garlic adheres to the sides of the bowl. Turn off the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cooked or canned chick peas and cumin and process to a coarse paste.

3. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and yogurt (I used a whisk), and add to the chick peas. Process until the mixture is smooth. Season generously with salt and more lemon juice if you want. Scrape into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper. (I used paprika.)

Keeps for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Tzatziki
Greece, serves 6

1 English cucumber, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater (or use a food processor)
Salt
2-3 garlic cloves (to taste) (I used 2)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 c drained yogurt (4 cups undrained) (I used undrained regular plain yogurt)
1-2 T chopped fresh mint or dill (I used mint)
1 T red wine vinegar

1. Sprinkle the cucumber generously with salt, toss, and place in a colander in the sink. Let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse and squeeze out water.

2. Combine the garlic cloves, 1 T olive oil, and salt in a mortar and pestle and grind to a paste.

3. Toss the cucumber with the garlic paste, yogurt, mint, vinegar, and remaining 1 T oil. Taste and adjust salt and garlic. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Don't make this too far in advance because the cucumbers will continue to release water into the tzatziki and bright flavors will fade.

I also just discovered that the author of the cookbook I selected (Martha Rose Shulman) writes a column for the NY Times Fitness and Health section entitled Recipes for Health. It's a great column with lots of delicious-looking easy recipes.  Overall, I really enjoyed reading her cookbook Mediterranean Harvest.  It was full of great, basic Mediterranean recipes that are very healthy and easy enough that they don't feel overwhelming for weeknight cooking.  I will definitely be coming back to this cookbook!

PS: I'm starting to mull over some ideas in my head for our next book selection.  If there is a particular genre you're interested in or maybe one we haven't done yet...let me know :)  I have a few options in mind, but I want to know what interests each of you in order to pick something everyone will enjoy!  Do you have anything in particular at the top of your to-read list?