The Better than Store Bought Hummus

 

from the "Inspired Taste" website. I kow you know how to make hummus so this is mainly so that I can find it again, as I loved it.

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1 ½ cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice or 1 large lemon

1/4 cup (60 ml) well-stirred tahini, see our homemade tahini recipe

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin [seeds work ok too]

Salt to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) water or aquafaba

Dash ground paprika or sumac, for serving. [Sumac was nice, the tiniest bit!]

Directions

"In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended. Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.

Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.

Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika. Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week."

[Note: after making the hummus, the taste improves if you put it in the fridge for a while.]

 

 

 

You both might already make this. I made it tonight for dinner and despite not having a lot of spinach in the freezer, it worked very well. I just fancied having spinach tonight.

it's not a difficult recipe, just requires a lot of stirring (not my forte!)

Saag paneer

By Elena Silcock

 

Serves 6

An Indian dish with plenty of flavour, saag paneer is a well-loved vegetarian side dish. It's rich in calcium and folate from the spinach and is gluten-free, too.

Preparation and prep: 10 mins Cooking time: 20 min

• Easy
• 
  

  Serves 6

An Indian dish with plenty of flavour, saag paneer is a well-loved vegetarian side dish. It's rich in calcium and folate from the spinach and is gluten-free, too

(See lilnk for Nutritional Values) 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 450g paneer, cut into 3cm cubes
• 500g spinach, mature fresh or frozen
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 1 green chilli, roughly chopped, (include seeds for extra spice)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ lemon, juiced, to serve

Method

• STEP 1

  Melt the ghee, whisk in with the turmeric and chilli powder, then add the cubed paneer and toss well. Set aside. If using frozen spinach, microwave for 3-5 mins, then place in a sieve and squeeze out most of the water. If using fresh spinach, place in a colander, pour over boiling water, drain and cool, then put in a tea towel and squeeze out most of the water. Roughly chop.

• STEP 2

  Blitz the onion with the garlic, ginger and green chilli. Cook the paneer in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat for around 8 mins, tossing the pan so they become golden all over. Remove and set aside on a plate, leaving spices behind in the pan. Tip the onion mix into the pan, add a pinch of salt and turn the heat down. Fry until caramel coloured, around 10 mins, adding a splash of water if it looks a little dry. Add the garam masala, stir to coat the onion mix, fry for 2 mins.

• STEP 3

  Add the spinach and cook for a further 2-3 mins, adding 100ml water to release all the flavours from the bottom of the pan. Add the paneer and cook for 2-3 mins to heat through. Spoon into bowls and squeeze over a little lemon juice, to serve.

  Enjoy!
  

 https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/saag-paneer