Last month, I had kicked off the Dirty Dozen series with a recipe for lentils with leafy greens like spinach. Spinach has consistently stayed around the top of the Dirty Dozen list at least for the past 5 years. However, tomatoes appeared on the list just this year. I was dismayed to see staples like tomatoes and potatoes on the list now at #10 and #12 respectively. What’s a girl supposed to eat if tomatoes and potatoes are now “dirty”?
In the Dirty Dozen Recipe Roundup, I had listed a few of my strategies for dealing with the dirty list. One of them is to try and grow some of the offending produce in my own backyard to ensure it is totally chemical free. While this may not be feasible for everyone, if you even have space for potted plants, tomatoes can be grown. Since we have a very small vegetable patch, we typically plant 1-2 tomato saplings around March. After a long, patient wait, we start getting ripe tomatoes around July. In a good year, we get enough for our immediate cooking needs as well as to save for later. During years when we don’t have abundant produce at home, we simply buy organic tomatoes in the farmers market in peak summer when it is super cheap and save for later.
To save tomatoes for those wonderful soups and stews in winter, simply cut them in to small pieces and place in a saucepan at low heat and let it cook with a lid on. I typically add a bit of turmeric to the tomatoes. Once it has released all the liquid and cooked well, allow it to cook completely. Scoop in to small bottles and store them in the freezer. Then during those cold dreary months, you can just pull out one bottle at a time as needed. You could also make sun-dried tomatoes to save for later. Thinly slice the tomatoes and place it in a single layer on large plates or cookie sheets. Place in direct sun until the liquids have evaporated and the tomato shrivels up.
The hummus I made today uses sun-dried tomatoes but they came from a huge jar that I bought in Costco. You can buy sun-dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil in regular stores as well, but look for organic.
Recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Hummus
Makes a little more than 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dried chickpeas (If you are using canned chickpeas, use one 15 oz can)
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes with a little of the preserve oil
- 2 Tbsp tahini paste (I buy organic Kevala tahini paste from Whole Foods)
- 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (optional)
- A handful of basil leaves, washed and roughly chopped
- Pinch cumin powder
- Pinch paprika
- salt to taste
Method:
- Cook the chickpeas (skip this step if you are using canned chickpeas):
- Rinse the chickpeas and soak in tepid water at least overnight, for up to 2 days occasionally changing the water. The longer you soak it, the easier it is to cook. Also if they start to sprout, that’s a good thing as sprouted chickpeas are super healthy
- Throw away the soaking water before cooking
- Cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker or slow cooker with enough water to submerge the soaked chickpeas. Allow 4-5 whistles in the pressure cooker and wait a while before opening. If cooking in a saucepan, use more water and cover and cook on low heat until the chickpeas become mushy
- Reserve some of the cooking liquid
- Blend the hummus:
- Throw in the drained chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes with oil, tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, and spices in a high-speed blender or food processor
- Blend until super smooth using as much of the cooking liquid as and when you need it
- The consistency should be that of peanut butter or maybe just a tad more liquidy but not much
- Scoop in to an airtight container and refrigerate if you are not using it right away
This hummus will be a great hit as an appetizer at parties. Serve it with vegetables like celery, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, or with dinner crackers.
However at our place, we use hummus for breakfast. The very first post on Veggie Sutra featured a Cilantro Hummus recipe, and as mentioned in that post, hummus is a staple in our household for breakfast. I love to dress up the hummus with whatever herbs I have on hand or in the garden. This time, I used basil from the garden in addition to the sun-dried tomatoes. A healthy, wholesome spread on top of crackers or rice cakes or bread makes for a very satisfying breakfast in the morning!
Other breakfast spread variations from our kitchen: