Staff Favorite Recipe from Erin

Original Recipe for "Warm Buttered Hummus with Spiced Lamb and Pine Nuts" from Soframiz: Vibrant Middle Eastern Recipes from Sofra Bakery and Cafe, by co-chefs and authors Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick

Written by Erin Bellomy Maher and Leslie O'Neil

I had always thought hummus was just something you bought at the grocery store and ate with carrots to make them more filling until I visited the restaurant Oleana in Boston, MA. Oleana serves mind-blowing Mediterranean food, made extra special by their close relationship to and extensive use of the produce grown at Siena Farms in Sudbury. Their warm buttered hummus is such a treat, especially in colder months, and is an amazing complement to almost anything you can think to pair with it. Thankfully they have an amazing cookbook, Soframiz, which is a great companion for anyone wanting more creative (and, I'll admit, often more involved) seasonal veg preparation. I also highly recommend the butternut squash gozleme -- subbing any orange winter squash will still be delicious!

While the original recipe from Soframiz serves the hummus alongside spicy lamb and pine nuts, you can really serve this dish on it’s own as a dip with crackers or flatbread or alongside any non-meat option like roasted or fresh veggies. You can even use vegan butter with no real loss of flavor or richness. 

Since our harvest boxes contained dried chickpeas from our friends and partners at Camas County Mill alongside organic PNW parsnips, Central CA meyer lemons, and rapini from our friends and partners at Groundwork Organics, it seemed like the perfect pairing to feature with this warm and wonderful hummus. I’ve been daydreaming about this combo for the last five days and making myself hungry talking it over with y’all at pick-up so I’m pretty excited to try it out this weekend.

{Images - Featured image from Leslie: Warm Buttered Hummus topped with olive oil and mixed spices. From Camas Country Mill: Castellano Chickpeas. And from @AmandaPhotographic: Rapini (broccoli raab) from Zajac Farms and Meyer Lemons from Central California}

Ingredients:

1 Cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, drained, and rinsed

1 bay leaf

Pinch of baking soda (this helps make the hummus super creamy when you go to blend it)

1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt (plus more to taste)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 tablespoons if you’re using your meyer lemons as their lower acidity won’t cut through the rich fats as well as common lemons)

⅓ teaspoon ground cumin

Finely chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley leaves, for serving

2 tablespoons pine nuts, for serving

1-2 pounds parsnips cut into fairly even sticks or rounds

1 bunch rapini, stem ends trimmed

Extra olive oil, lemon juice, and salt for roasting

Warm pita bread and microgreens, for serving

Optional: 

zest of 1 lemon

For the hummus:

1. Soak your chickpeas overnight in at least 4 cups of water. Drain the soaking liquid and rinse the chickpeas.
2. Combine chickpeas and 6 Cups warm water in a large saucepan along with 1 bay leaf and the baking soda. Bring to a boil over high heat and let this rolling boil go for 5 minutes before turning the heat down to medium low and letting it simmer for 40-45 minutes, uncovered, until the chickpeas are tender and nearly falling apart. Use a ladle to skim any foam that rises to the surface of the water every 5-10 minutes or so.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and remove the bay leaf before draining the chickpeas. Save the rest of your cooking liquid (aquafaba) if you choose, to whip up and use as a vegan egg replacement in another dish.
5. While the chickpeas are still hot, whiz them up in a food processor with a metal blade until they’re finely ground and start to resemble cookie dough. The chickpeas will form a ball in the machine as they become smooth enough.
6. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a steady stream while the food processor is running. Slowly add the lemon juice, cumin, lemon zest (if using), and half the reserved cooking liquid and continue to blend until very, very smooth and creamy. Add more of the cooking liquid if the mixture seems too thick.

The consistency of your hummus should be creamy like yogurt or mayonnaise. Season to taste.

For the Veggies:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Wash 1-2 pounds of parsnips, peel if you choose but this isn’t strictly necessary. Cut into sticks about ½ inch thick by 3 inches long. You could also chunk it up into roughly even pieces if you prefer but sticks will wrap nicely in flatbread.
3. Toss with olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and salt. Spread in an even layer on a sheet pan, being careful to leave space between them so they can brown all over and not just steam.
4. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Stir once, about half-way through.
5. While still hot, toss the roasted parsnips with a few teaspoons of spices of your choice (ground cumin, harissa, coriander seeds, fenugreek, or fennel seeds would all be tasty and in keeping with the spices used for the original lamb accompaniment from Soframiz.
6. Trim the stems of your rapini (broccoli raab) and toss with olive oil, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Spread the rapini evenly across a sheet pan (separate from the parsnips since all veggies have different roasting times). 
7. Roast for 20 minutes until stems are tender and leaves are dried and just turning brown.
8. Finish with lemon zest and optional spices of choice (see #5 above).

Serve your warm, buttery hummus spread over pita with roasted parsnips and rapini. Top with toasted pine nuts, microgreens, and chopped, fresh parsley.

{Images of roasted rapini and roasted parsnips}

Pro tip: cut your lemons in half and grill them, face-down until you get a nice, dark brown char on the face. This will give them a bit of caramelized sweetness that will also translate through to your hummus and roasted veggies.

Notes (from Leslie):

Feel free to try other roasted veggies with this! Some options from our recent harvest boxes that would be tasty: celeriac, carrots, carnival squash, baby beets, brown beech mushrooms, and leeks.

Another way to make this your own:

• Try adding more spices! Added directly to the hummus as you blend it or sprinkled on top for serving, I always advocate for more spice! I included freshly ground fennel seeds, black mustard seeds, and coriander seeds reserved from the roasted veggies and served on top of my hummus the first night but any spices you like would be great! I really want to try this with some zaatar...
• Up the amount of citrus juice or zest for a fresh and acidic pop: I added a bunch of lemon zest and would personally add even more of both zest and lemon juice instead of some of the reserved cooking liquid. I really like a good amount of acidity in my food though so if that's not your taste, that's ok!
• Add a few tablespoons of tahini while blending for richness.
• Like your hummus with garlic? Go ahead and add some raw or roasted.
• Adding other roasted veggies into the paste itself would add color and a whole new realm of flavor. I do love a good roasted beet hummus and highly recommend trying it!

Hummus is one of my favorite things to add to toast with veggies both raw and cooked for a filling and tasty snack any time of day.

After making a double batch starting with 2 cups of dried chickpeas: unless you're throwing a huge party or want to freeze some, stick to the recipe! This made SO MUCH hummus! And it's dang delicious but I probably should have stuck to my original plan and reserved half the cooked chickpeas for another dish.

This is also the lightest, fluffiest hummus I've ever had and has been excellent leftover (lasts up to 2 weeks in airtight containers in the fridge).