Being cheeky...

Last night's dinner did not go exactly as planned. I really should have learned by now that if I have it in mind to make something for dinner days in advance, I should actually do the shopping days in advance.

Well, I wanted to have a sort of mezze-style dinner involving lamb burgers, pita, hummus - the works, inspired by CL's Junk Food chapter. The end result was still a sort of mezze-style, but without the works - but nevertheless wonderfully delicious.

57. A Quick Hummus - *Junk Food*
58. Fattoush - *Larder Salads*

(Edit: I never mentioned why I didn't make a meat dish for dinner last night... it was because I couldn't find ground lamb anywhere. I did an hour's walk and went to 5 or 6 stores and nothing! Whatdya gotta do around here to get some friggin' lamb???!!!!)

The cheeky portion of the evening is solely on my part. In the Pita and Fillings part of the Junk Food chapter, Tom indicates that a quick hummus would be a perfect filling for pita, among other things. Well, I found the quickest way to make hummus --- to buy it!

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, here are the facts:

Tom says:

Some shop-bought hummus is fine, but it is so easy to make that it is worth doing your own. I have a mild beef with supermarkets for making it with vegetable oil rather than olive oil. I think the latter gives it a better flavor. I sometimes find commercial hummus a bit smooth, too.

My case:

Shop-bought hummus, in Israel and Brooklyn, is not fine, it's fantastic! In fact, most homes in Israel never bother to make their own because the quality of the bought-product is exceptional. During all the time I have spent in Israel the only occasion in which I have had homemade hummus was in restaurants, and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and the shop brand. Now, I have to make the distinction here that not all shop-bought hummus is the same. I have had really really bad hummus in Liverpool. I'm sure that there are better brands in the UK, but this particular one came in a can and was the most appalling specimen of ground chickpeas I have ever seen. And it was bought in a Middle Eastern store, no less.

Also, the fabulous brand found everywhere in Israel and in many cities in the U.S., Sabra, make their hummus with olive oil. And for those conscious of their hummus being too smooth, I give you Exhibit A.

Chunky style!

So that is my cheekiness - if I really thought that hummus around my parts was horrible, I would certainly put my crappy $9.99 mini food processor to work.

Hummus is just one of the fillings for a typical mezze/pita night. As I said before, pita is really meant to be robust, because you should see how Israelis stuff those suckers at sandwich shops. Being in Israel is all about appreciating the numerous salads and fillings one puts into pita. It doesn't stop at falafel. Like my dad, Israelis are big on pickled items. They are known as hamutzim. You haven't tasted heaven until you bite into a pita, warmed by the sun, that is filled with yummy and tangy delights. When I was at university, there was an American studying in my group. He didn't speak a word of Hebrew. So, you would expect my surprise when standing behind him at one of these pita stalls. His turns comes to order, the man behind the counter has an open pita ready, and then this American guy starts telling the 'stuffer' in Hebrew all the things he wants in the pita -- hummus, hatzilim (eggplant), hamutzim, etc. Food, ladies and gents, is universal!

One of the big things most families have at dinner and social gatherings is the 'Israeli salad'. I have seen it in Turkish restaurants as 'Shepherd's Salad', as well. For my family, it has always been tomatoes and cucumbers (Israeli, natch!) chopped finely, with some onion, also chopped small, a sprinkling of lemon juice and olive oil, and finally, salt and pepper. We eat this as a side for the main dishes or we eat it with the main dishes in a pita.

Tom includes a variation of the Israeli salad I have grown up with, Fattoush. Fattoush is basically the same thing, but with torn up toasted flatbread inside. I love fattoush, and especially how the bread soaks up all the juices. Mmmmmm.

So I had the hummus and I was about to make the fattoush. But what else?? I had to think fast of a suitable and substantial meal for the two of us. It is not so easy to promise meat to a carnivorous glutton, such as hubby, and then to take that away. I had it in mind to make something full of protein, so I could fool him to thinking he would be just as full as if he were eating meat. And I didn't have to go too far, culturally speaking. I went to my Israeli fave, shakshuka.

You will remember that I made Tom's Chakchouka a few weeks ago. The one that I know and love is definitely eggs, mostly tomatoes, and sometimes peppers. His was definitely peppers, mostly eggs, and sometimes tomatoes. You will recall I didn't like his too much, because I am not a fan of peppers, roasted or cooked in any way. I much prefer them fresh. So I made a version, closer to the one I was familiar with, courtesy of my friend, Julie, from Nigella.com.

Now that dinner was sorted, I could start the cooking. (And you're all thinking, 'finally!') I started on the fattoush first because the shakshuka would need to be eaten straight away. So, I deseeded tomatoes and a cucumber, and chopped both into small pieces. I got the rest of the ingredients together by chopping up a red pepper, some parsley, a garlic clove, and a red onion. (I should note here that Tom includes cauliflower, radishes, and chickpeas in the ingredient list, but indicates that each family should add and take away as each chooses, so I thought to keep it simple and leave these out.) Separately, I toasted two pita halves in a low oven, cut them up, and added them to some olive oil and lemon juice.

I put the veggies all together, and then added the pita shards, along with some salt, pepper, dried mint, and sumac sprinkled on top. Yummy fattoush!


With the salad done, I started on the shakshuka. Basically all I did was brown some onions and chopped pepper in some olive oil. To this I added some passata and let it bubble away with added chopped parsley, zaatar, salt, and a pinch of chilli flakes.

I broke three eggs into the mixture and covered the pan to let the eggs cook for a few minutes. I was quite impressed by how the eggs sort of floated on top, a la poached eggs. It looked beautiful!

It was at this point that I was drooling like mad, as was very very hungry, so I set the table -- hummus, pita, fattoush, and shakshuka.


I instantly scooped up the egg surrounding by the lovely tomatoey sauce, and stuffed it into my pita. I put some fattoush on the side for stuffing later.

This was delicious! It was not what I planned, but it turned out to be a lovely meal. The pita pocket is the perfect vehicle for a pungent salad like fattoush and the wonderful and warm shakshuka. I am pleased as punch that I had some leftover fattoush to stuff another pita with this morning, and that will be my lunch! I could imagine making this fattoush for many meals this summer - it's perfect BBQ fare. B'tea-von!