Tag Archives: budget-wise

JAMIE’S TAHINI RECIPE COLLECTION, Wheat-and-Gluten Free

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Pita topped with artichoke hummus and lamb. Photograph courtesy of Parkerman & Christie from San Diego, USA Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license via Wikipedia.

prodtahinicanPhotograph of canned sesame tahini from The Joyva Corporation.

Tahini is a thick Middle Eastern paste made of sesame seeds.  The dip that many people call “hummus” is correctly called “hummus bi’ tahini,” that is, “chickpeas with tahini“. Hummus is the Arabic word for “chickpea.”

… If form follows function,

it stands to reason that pain is the fate of all “brainy” things -

cauliflower, coral and raspberry clumps, the florets that sizzle

in my spiced tahini. I’ve heard potatoes

described as ‘thuggy  and polotless,’ but never ‘aristocratic’ …

The Veggi Life, by Michael Steffen, Poetry Magazine, September 2000

Traditional tahini sauce and dip recipes are naturally wheat-and-gluten free and safe for those with Celiac Disease or wheat-and-gluten sensitivity. I have seen some manufactured or store-prepared “hummus” that might not be wheat-and-gluten free nor made in a dedicated facility.  My feeling is that homemade is safest. I tend to buy Joyva brand tahini  since that’s what I’ve been buying since I was sixteen, and Joyva is a hometown (Brooklyn) company. I think it’s commonly available around the U.S. I’m not sure about elsewhere. It can be a good substitute for peanut butter in some recipes, if you’re allergic to that. You might try tahini in place of peanut butter for the peanut sauce in some Asian recipes or in your favorite all-American peanut-butter cookie recipe. These dips are tasty with veggies for healthy, low-carb snacking.

Note: A regular blender, food processor, or a hand blender work well with these recipes. You can even do them the old fashioned way with a mortar and pestle.

Here’s my collection: all good Greek, Lebanese and Turkish peasant food. They are not only healthy and flavorful but budget-wise.

TAHINI AND LEMON

The recipe

Serves one or two

Thin two-or-three tablespoons of tahini with fresh lemon juice for a quick and easy dip, spread, or sauce for falafel, fish or fried vegetables.

Variation:

  • I have known people to thin tahini with white wine vinegar to go with fried fish.  Not atypical given my ancestry, I prefer lemon, but you might try this with vinegar for a change of pace or if you feel you’d like it better.

SPICED TAHINI AND LEMON

The Recipe

Makes about one cup of dip

  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, best quality you can afford
  • Pinch of Aleppo Pepper
  • Sea salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup fresh, cilantro, minced fine

Place all ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender and process.  If it is too thick, thin with added lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Place in a serving dish and top with the minced, fresh cilantro leaves. Serve with your favorite gluten-free bread or crudités or as an accompaniment to cold turkey or chicken.

TAHINI WITH YOGURT

The recipe

Makes about one cup of dip

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup creamy, Greek Yogurt, can be nonfat
  • 2 cloves of garlic, skinned
  • 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
  • Pinch of  Aleppo Pepper
  • Sea salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup minced, fresh cilantro

Place all ingredients except the lemon juice and cilantro in a blender.  Add the lemon juice and process again. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Place in a serving bowl and top with the cilantro. Serve as an accompaniment to fried fish or vegetables.

TAHINI WITH GROUND ALMONDS

The recipe

Makes about one cup of dip

  • 1 cloves of garlic, skinned
  • 1/2 cup finely ground almonds
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • Pinch of Alleppo Pepper
  • Salt to taste

Prepare as above and serve as an accompaniment to cold turkey, chicken, or ham or as a veggie dip.

TAHINI WITH EGGPLANT, Baba Ghanouz

The recipe

Makes a bit over one cup.  Double or triple the recipe as needed for family size or number of guests.

  • 1 large dark-purple eggplant, cut off the top
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 cup of tahini
  • 1/4 cup of lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Pinch of Aleppo pepper
  • 2 tablespoon fresh parsley or cilantro, minced fine
  • 1/2 Roma tomato, diced
  • 3 Kalamata olives, pitted and minced

Wash and dry the eggplant and char it over hot coals (best) or under a broiler.  The skin should blister and blacken. When done, run the eggplant under cold water while gently removing the skin.  Squeeze out the bitter juices and then mash the eggplant by processing it in a blender. Slowly add lemon juice and tahini alternately.  Then add the cumin, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasoning as appropriate.  Place in a serving bowl and top with the tomatoes and olives.  Serve with gluten-free bread or crackers or crudités.

TAHINI WITH CHICKPEAS, Hummus bi Tahini

The recipe

Makes a scant two cups.  Double or triple the recipe as needed for family size or number of guests.

  • 1 small can of chickpeas, open and drain
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/2 cup of lemon juice
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil, best quality you can afford
  • Smoked Hungarian Paprika
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced fine

Place the chickpeas, tahini, and garlic in the blender and process.  Taste and add salt and lemon juice as appropriate.  If the dip seems too thick, you can thin it with some more lemon juice.  Place in a bowl and top with a spoonful of olive oil, a dusting of paprika, and the minced parsley.

Variations:

  • When pomegranates are in season, you can top the hummus with pomegranate seeds instead of the above.
  • You can use any beans you like in place of chickpeas:  cannellini beans or  fava beans work well.

Pita Bakery in Istanbul. Photograph courtesy of איתן טל Etan Tal under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license via Wikipedia. Pita ( or hubz Arabia in the Arabic) is the much-loved accompaniment to hummus bi’ tahani.

For more ethnic wheat-and-gluten free recipes check out my other site:

Brooklyn Memories Most Green.

Wishing everyone everywhere easy access to pure, clean, and plenty of good food and water with fine company and conversation for seasoning.

PASTA FAGIOLI, Wheat-and-Gluten Free

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Photograph courtesy of PDClipart.org.

“who lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup…” Howl by Allen Ginsberg

No matter where we live or what we seek in our hunger and loneliness, food is necessary for life.  It’s the great common denominator. We all have to eat. There’s no energy for jazz or sex without it. This unassuming soup – in Brooklyn slang it’s pasta fazool -of pasta and beans in tomato broth is true Brooklyn soul food.  You can feed an army with it on a few bucks.  It’s comforting and tummy warming and can be thrown together quickly when you are pressed for time.

Back in our Brooklyn days – when we were slender and young and unconcerned with cholesterol and saturated fats – we saved bacon fat to sauté the garlic, a custom left-over from the Depression, I suspect.  You can still do that if you are not fighting the battle of the bulge. It does add a nice, smokey flavor and, if you’ve saved it from your breakfast bacon, it’s certainly a cheap fat. Nonetheless, we use olive oil these days and tend to avoid bacon.

If you have time, the most economical way to make this dish is prepare your beans from dried beans.  Follow the package directions. In the interest of speed, I use canned beans here. Back home, I would only have used Progresso beans if I didn’t do the beans from scratch. These days in California, I’m more likely to use canned beans from Eden Organic Foods. Times, people, and priorities change, but both brands taste good.

Photograph courtesy of Eden Foods.

Warning: Do not use quinoa or corn pasta in this dish.  Brown rice pasta works best.

PASTA FAGIOLI (Pasta with Beans), WHEAT-AND-GLUTEN-FREE

The recipe

Serves six

  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil, does not have to be first press
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • 1 quart of water
  • 2 cups of brown rice pasta, cooked and rinsed
  • 1 can of cannellini beans or red kidney beans, drain the beans and rinse
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 small white onion, slivered
  • 1/2 cup of store-bought or homemade pesto (optional)
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly grated Romano cheese

In a soup pot, gently sauté the garlic in the olive oil being careful not to burn it. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon.  When it begins to color, add the tomato paste and fry the paste and garlic together for a minute or two on a low-to-medium heat continuously stirring the mixture.  Add the water slowly, mixing well to dilute the paste.  Add the parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes and salt,  but reserve the pesto and the slivered onions. When the soup begins to simmer, add the beans and pasta and heat through. Taste to adjust seasoning.  Ladle into soup bowls and pass the onions, cheese and pesto around the table so that each person can season their bowl to taste. If you are not using pesto, you can top each bowl with a spoonful or two of raw high-quality extra-virgin olive oil before serving.

Variations: If you have left-over carrots, or meat, or sausages, they are easily and happily added.

Photograph courtesy of Progresso Foods.


Rosemary Chicken w/Pasta, Pancetta & Leeks, Gluten-Free

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Photograph of rosemary plant.

There’s Rosemary for you, that’s for remembrance! Pray you, love, remember.”  Ophelia in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet.

Rosemary, the herb of remembrance. . . and you’ll remember this dish for its lovely scent and tantalizing flavor. Moreover, it’s a great way to stretch one chicken breast to feed four. Add a tomato or cucumber salad, and you’ve a dinner so luxurious it will belie its buget-wise inspiration. You can cut corners further by substituting gluten-free bacon for the pancetta. The pancetta (Italian bacon) is not smoked, so its flavor is more subtle and is less likely to overwhelm the tastes of the other ingredients. So I do prefer it for this dish, but we have to do the best with what we have.  I have made it with American-style bacon. It’s still a delicious dish.

ROSEMARY CHICKEN W/PASTA, PANCETTA & LEEKS, WHEAT-AND-GLUTEN FREE

The recipe

Serves four

  • 1 good-sized chicken breast, boned and skinned
  • 2 ounces thin-sliced pancetta, diced
  • 1 leek, trim bottom, clean out sand, large dice
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup chicken broth, gluten-free
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, doesn’t need to be first press
  • 1 teaspoon butter or Smart Balance
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, remove from stem and chop
  • freshly ground sea salt to taste
  • 1 box brown rice spaghetti, prepare according to package directions
  • Freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese

Gently brown and crisp the pancetta in a fry pan. Drain the fat. Set aside the pancetta. Add the olive oil to the pan. When the oil is hot (careful not to let it smoke), add the chicken and seer it for 2-3 minutes. Salt the chicken. Add the pancetta, leeks and garlic, rosemary and the pepper and sauté for two minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic get too dark.  It will get bitter.  Add the broth and taste to adjust seasoning. Heat through. Add the butter or Smart Balance and the cooked pasta and mix well to melt butter and reheat pasta. Serve warm.