Hummus (basic recipe)

Having spent few years in the Middle East, I've had many occasions to eat hummus.

Hummus is in fact a staple in the Middle East, where it is widely and easily available: you can taste it in most restaurants and cafes (and not only those serving middle eastern cuisine) or buy it fresh from supermarkets or have it delivered by take away / home delivery joints. 

Not all of the available options are equally good though: they may vary from light, creamy and full of flavor, to decent, to heavy or too strong in taste  (too much garlic or oil or use of not high quality ingredients).  

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to taste a hummus made by a middle eastern home-cook: I really would have liked to try a homemade "family recipe"!

But hummus is actually very popular all across the world now.
And the reason is pretty clear to me: it is absolutely delicious! Also it can be served and eaten in different ways and different occasions: it can be an appetizer served along with bread (preferably pita) or fresh vegetables like in any traditional mezze spread (the Middle Eastern set of appetizers), but it goes well on sandwiches, with roasted / steamed / boiled / sauteed vegetables, as a sauce for vegetarian (see falafel) and non vegetarian "meatballs" and more. And to be honest, I can't resist having plain spoonfuls of hummus directly from the bowl.

Basic focaccia (Emmanuel Hadjiandreou's recipe)

Do you know somebody who doesn't like focaccia? I don't. And I have even seen many people avidly eating not so good versions of focaccia...
Because focaccia is one of those amazing creation of Italian cuisine in front of which it is impossible to say "no, thanks", sometimes even if it's not the best.
Not only focaccia is delicious and comforting, but it is incredibly versatile.
It's a perfect snack on its own at any time of the day and in almost all situations (at work, at school, on the beach, for a picnic) but it goes also well as a substitute for bread in any type of sandwich.
Can be served in a buffet or in a more formal, seated dinner.
It's the simplest yet ideal amuse buche, but it is also the perfect addition to any bread basket.
And it may be a tasty impromptu dinner when there is an empty fridge and no willing to shop and cook.

Focaccia with cherry tomatoes

I find the science of making bread very fascinating. 

And somehow poetic is the Italian expression used to call it, "arte bianca" meaning "the white art", where white obviously refers to the color of flour (at least the type most commonly used ) while the word art emphasizes how valuable and noble this activity is.

Even if I have been cooking and baking for many years, only recently I started practicing in making bread and similar baked goods. The reason of this late approach to this field is that I was somehow scared to try: I thought that making bread was a complicated job, just for experts, and I also considered almost necessary to have an electric mixer.

But then, a couple of years ago, I finally found the courage to try. To make it easier (and don't risk much) I started with one of the several possible versions of the so called no-knead-bread, where most of the work is made by yeast and time. Luckily results were satisfying enough after the very first attempts - in fact, in case of initial failures, I am not sure whether I would have continued making bread - so that now I bake on my own most of the bread, as well as other baked goods, we have at home. And to be honest, eating so often homemade bread I've become much more demanding and selective when it comes to buy it from shops (and there aren't many shop-bought breads that we really like now).

Beetroot "hummus"

Hummus is an amazing Middle Eastern creation, a delicious spread never missing at any Levantine table but also popular - and rightly - across the world.
Hummus is an Arabic word meaning chickpeas, and in fact the main ingredient of this dip is boiled and mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. And this "original", classic version is really very good! But, starting from the most simple of the recipes for hummus, it is possible to create almost infinite possible versions, adding spices, herbs or other ingredients or modifying the proportions of the basic ingredients or also, in the most extreme variations, not even using chickpeas. At the moment, one of my favorite interpretations of hummus is exactly of one these alternative versions, where is used beetroot (boiled or baked) instead of chickpeas. Plus the same ingredients as the basic hummus recipe: tahini, a paste made of sesame seeds - a staple of the Middle Eastern cuisine- which adds a lovely nutty flavor; a bit of olive oil (better if extra-virgin) to make the spread moist; lemon juice for a sour balance and garlic which adds a pungent flavor.

Sun-dried tomatoes and olives muffins

I've been baking many muffins lately, and trying different varieties...
I would say that muffins are my newest field for baking experiments. I made several tests and experiments with other baked goods - tarts, cakes, cookies, breads, focaccia, and more - but muffins were not in my repertoire yet. Until I discovered how good, tasty and pretty they can be....and absolutely easy to make, and super fast too.
I've always liked muffins - not all of them actually, as I had also the unlucky chance to see, and eat, muffins with the same specific weight as bricks and others so flattish to resemble more a sweet pizza - but I had somehow undervalued their potential. And in fact muffins, when properly made and baked, are a really delicious treat, very good-looking too; and the funny thing is that the less you work the batter, the better muffins come out: the only trick for moist, soft and domed muffins is to mix the ingredients (to be precise add the liquid mixture to the dry mix), as less as possible, just to roughly combine everything. Not a secret though: everyone seems to know it, it's written on every cookbook, magazine, website, blog; it's important just to put in practice this simple advice.

Basic focaccia (Locatelli's foolproof focaccia)

Focaccia is one of the most popular baked goods in Italy, very simple and versatile: it can be stuffed inside or left plain, topped with sea salt and olive oil, rosemary or other herbs and sometimes with finely sliced olives or onions or cherry tomatoes. Like many other types of food, each Italian region has its own type of focaccia, with different preparation methods (and often even different ingredients) as well as diverse toppings or fillings; some types are even considered cake.

Focaccia originated from the Northern shores of Mediterranean (most historians believes it was introduced either by the Etruscans of North Central Italy prior to the Roman Empire or in Ancient Greece), and slowly spread into the cultures of Greece and Rome where it was very widely used.  The name ‘Focaccia’ is derived from the Roman words “panis focacius”, where "panis" simply means bread while "focacius" is the Latin word for center of fireplace, that is where this popular food was cooked (focus means fire in Latin). And given this origin it is not hard to believe that this flat bread, initially simply topped with spices, olive oil and other products, gradually morphed into one of the most famous Italian meals – pizza.

Focaccia's basic ingredients are very simple and actually remained unchanged from its origin until now: flour, water, salt, a small quantity of yeast and, one of the most important elements, olive oil, which was added to the top of the dough as a mean to preserve its moisture after baking. Through the centuries, most of the Italian regions have managed to modify original focaccia recipe and adapt to their regional and local tastes and ingredients; as a consequence the focaccia recipe has fragmented into countless variations, with some bearing little resemblance to its original form.

No-knead pizza baguette

I have already said that I like recipes for no-knead breads, because they enable anybody, even those - like me- who do not possess neither a stand mixer nor strong arms, to make fragrant, airy and delicious bread on his own.
The recipe I want to share today is not properly a bread - at least as bread is considered  in Italy, that is something that goes along with food, like rice in Asian cuisine - but more an aperitif, perfect to stimulate the appetite, or even a snack for an afternoon craving for something good. Pair them with a glass of cold sparkling wine or even a pint of beer and nobody will resist.
If you are not able to serve them as soon as they come out from the oven, these baguette can be warmed up and will be fragrant and soft as just baked (it is also possible to freeze them and thaw them when needed).

Aperitivo time: Cheese savory cookies

A typical Italian tradition is that of aperitivo, which literally is an alcoholic beverage served before a meal to stimulate the appetite; the word comes from the Latin verb aperire which means to open and in fact it is intended to open the stomach to the upcoming meal but also, in formal and structured occasions, to open the meal literally as it is the very first course served. But more commonly it is a sort of pre-dinner ritual of having a drink before going home from work or to a restaurant or somewhere else for dinner. Since the drinks typically served as aperitivo are alcoholic (even if also non-alcoholic drinks or cocktail are now included in all aperitifs menus), and are drunk when stomach is empty, some nibbles and snacks which can be eaten with fingers usually accompany them, like chips, olives, cheese bites, crackers.

In more recent times Italian bars started to serve such a wide variety of finger foods and nibbles that the aperitivo has become a substitute for the dinner and, at the same time, an opportunity to socialize and spend time with friends. But that's a long story and I will probably will write about it with more details in the future.

Today I want to share one recipe that I consider perfect when offering an aperitivo at home. When we have guests for dinner, before sitting at table, I like to have some conversation and to open their stomachs with a glass of wine (preferably sparkling, white or rosé). And with the wine I like to serve something small and easy to eat,stimulating appetite (and possibly not spoiling it). These cookies are perfect for this scope.