Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Basil Hummus

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I love chickpea very much but I haven’t done hummus before, I don’t know why. It’s so easy to make and definitely tastes better and containes no preservatives than the store bought hummus. You can spread it on a slice of bread or you can eat it as a dip. Either you choose it tastes scrumptious. 🙂
I found the recipe on Emily’s blog – who makes delicious vegetarian and vegan meals.

Basil Hummus

Ingredients

– 1 can (400 g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
– 1 cup basil leaves
– 2 tablespoons tahini
– 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
– 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
– 1 tablespoon water
– salt, pepper

Method

Place basil leaves, olive oil and lemon juice in the food processor and pulse to combine until creamy. Add chickpeas, tahini, water and season it with salt and pepper. Continue to run food processor until the hummus is creamy and smooth.

Basil, Walnut and Pecorino Spelt Crackers

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I think I can say that home made cookies and home made crackers are the best. What do you think? Most of the time I bake sweet cookies but once in a while I crave after something salty, something savoury… like these crackers. 
I was curious where the crackers come from so I searched the internet and I found this: “Crackers are said to have been invented in 1792 when John Pearson of Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA made a pilot-like bread product from just flour and water that he called Pearson’s Pilot Bread. An immediate success with sailors because of its shelf life, it also became known as hardtack or sea biscuit. This was the first cracker bakery in the United States, and produced crackers for more than a century.

The real revolutionary moment in the life of the cracker came in 1801 when another Massachusetts baker, Josiah Bent, burned a batch of biscuits in his brick oven. The crackling noise that emanated from the singed biscuits inspired the name – crackers – and a bit of ingenuity, as Bent set out to convince the world of the product’s snack food potential. By 1810, his Boston-area business was booming, and, in later years, Bent sold his enterprise to the National Biscuit Company, which now does business under the Nabisco name.”

Now that I’m writing this post, watching this mouthwatering photos I know I have to bake them again this afternoon… yes, it’s this addictive. The good news: baking these crackers is easy as it gets.

Basil, Walnut and Pecorino Spelt Crackers

Ingredients

– 150 g white spelt flour
– 100 g cold butter, diced
– 100 g pecorino cheese, grated
– 10-15 lemon basil leaves, chopped
– 3 tablespoons walnut, roughly chopped
– 1 teaspoon salt

Method

In a bowl crumble the cold butter with the flour. Add salt, cheese, basil and walnut. Mix everythig together until incorporated. Divide the dough into half and transfer each of them to clingfilm and shape into logs (10-12 cm long, 3-4 cm diameter). Wrap well and place in the fridge until hard, at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 170C (325F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the logs and cut crosswise into 5 mm thick slices. Arrange the crackers on the prepared pan. Bake the crackers until golden brown on the edges and lighter in the centre (for about 15 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. The crackers will keep in an airtight container in cool dry place for up to 10 days.

Globe Zucchinis Stuffed with Pesto Quinoa

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After I  had posted this recipe on my Hungarian blog I noticed another globe zucchini recipe on Béa’s blog. It was funny. She also stuffed her zucchinis with grain but with millet not with quinoa. 
I also love millet but right now my favourite grain is quinoa. It’s not difficult to find out if you follow my blog. 🙂 I cooked the quinoa and seasoned with home made pesto. To make the pesto I used lemon basil. Lemon basil, known for its strong lemon scent, is very popular in a variety of cuisines, especially Thai and Italian.

It’s so easy to make this dish. It’s full of flavour.

Globe Zucchinis Filled with Pesto Quinoa

Ingredients

– 4 small globe zucchinis
– 1 cup cooked quinoa
– 2 handful of lemon basil leaves
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1 tablespoon pine nuts
– 1/2 lemon’s juice
– 50 g goat cream cheese (optional)
– 100-200 ml olive oil
– salt, pepper

Method

Wash the zucchinis then cut a small top for each one. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, makin sure not to puncture the outer skin. Set aside.
To make the pesto put all the ingredients: basil leaves, garlic cloves, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper in a kitchen blender and mix everthing until combine (incorporated). Pour the pesto over the cooked quinoa and mix well. This time you can stir in the goat cream cheese.
Stuff the zucchinis with this pesto quinoa then top each with its hat. Place them in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and bake the zucchinis for 30 minutes on 170-180C (350F). Serve with green salad.


Spagetthi Al Limone

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The recipe is Italian but the lemon I used to make this recipe is from the island of Aegina, Greece. The island is full of lemon trees (I fell in love with it!) and we picked some fruits while we were there. The aroma of these lemons are amazing… I have never smelt anything good before. I think the paradise can smell like these gorgeous yellow lemons… 🙂

Spagetthi Al Limone

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 250 g spagetthi
– 1 organic lemon’s skin and juice
– 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
– basil leaves, chopped
– 1 teaspoon dried chili
– 3 tablespoons olive oil or 30 g butter
– Parmesan, freshly grated
– salt, pepper

Method

In a large pot cook spagetthi in salted, boiling water until al dente. In the meantime peel the lemon thinly (without its white part) and chop the skin finely. In a large bowl mix together olive oil or butter, the chopped garlic and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the spagetthi then add it to the lemon mixture, sprinkle with chili, basil and lemon’s skin. Serve with Parmesan.

Peach, tomato and basil salad & thank you, Penny De Los Santos

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I made this recipe in September 2010 but I’m doing the translation on my not-long-ago born English food blog now (May 17 2011). I found this recipe on Penny’s blog and after I had made it I sent a message saying thank you to her on Twitter. I love tomatoes, I love sweet, juicy peaches (I think the best ones are grown in Hungary! I’m not kidding! I’ve never eaten so juicy, crunchy, sweet peaches anywhere else. You should come and try it! :)) and I love basil. I was a bit surprised to put these three ingredients in one dish but I gave it a try. The taste of the salad was new for me but I loved it.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get to know Penny, her work, vocation, passion and her enthusiasm more. Thanks to the team of CreativeLIVE – they gave thousands the opportunity to follow their dreams and watch Penny online and learn from her so much. The Food & Culture Photography Workshop with Penny De Los Santos was unbelievable, I can’t find words to describe these three days. Penny, you are an inspirational icon for me and I just want to thank you for your hard work. You put so much effort in the workshop to teach thousands around the world. I loved every minute of it. * THANK YOU! *

And here is one of the most noted excerpts of Penny from this weekend: “If you are not doing what you love, – ask yourself: why not?”

Ingredients

– 3 peaches, pitted, diced
– 2 tomatoes, diced
– 10 leaves of basil, chopped
– 1 clove of garlic, chopped
– 4 tablespoons olive oil
– 2 teaspoons apple vinegar
– half of a lemon’s juice
– salt, pepper

Method

In a salad bowl mix together the peaches, tomatoes, basil leaves. In a smaller bowl make the dressing: mix together the garlic, apple vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper and pour it over the salad.