I have been cooking, I swear. I just fell into a rut where I basically ate spaghetti with kale, or lemon risotto, or crispy black bean tacos and that's about it. There just hasn't been much time or desire for experimenting lately, thus no new posts.
But now it's really cold and I've been having a bit of a cooking challenge: what can I make without leaving my apartment AND can be considered a meal? Some attempts are more noble than others. I do know now that coleslaw mix with a green onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and an array of spices is actually ok. Ugly, but ok. Also, almond butter is not a meal. It is delicious but will never seem to fill you up, just give you a stomach ache.
And so this is how I ended up making red lentil hummus. I doubt I'll ever make it again. The texture kind of grosses me out and regular hummus is so much better. But in case you've got the ingredients and don't want to leave the house for something better, here you go. And why yes, that IS homemade bread. That part was delicious, thank you. So much so that Matt told me, "This is really good! It tastes like actual bread." ... I chose to take it as a compliment.
Red Lentil Hummus (via Chow.com)
Ingredients-
2 cups water
1 cup dried red lentils
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tahini
5 tablespoons olive oil (I used much less and just added more lemon juice)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Heat water in a small saucepan over high heat until boiling. Add lentils and reduce heat to low. Simmer until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Drain through a fine mesh strainer and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
- Place lentils, garlic, and tahini in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse until lentils are broken up, about 10 pulses.
- With the motor running, add oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and blend until evenly incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend for 40 seconds more or until smooth.