Tahini and Hummus

Tahini

Toast 1 cup hulled sesame seeds in a dry skillet (e.g. the 10" cast iron one) until light brown. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Let cool for a few minutes, e.g. in a metal mixing bowl. Process in a food processor until crumbly. Add 2 tbsp of neutral oil (light olive, avocado, or sesame) and process another 2-4 minutes. Add a bit more oil, 1/2 tbsp at a time, if necessary, until the paste starts to fold over so the blades can chop it. A pinch of salt of desired, to taste.

Source: https://www.inspiredtaste.net/26901/easy-tahini-recipe/

Hummus 

Have ready 250g cooked chickpeas, well drained. 

Add to food processor big bowl: 1/4 cup of the above tahini and 1/4 cup lemon juice (approx 1 lemon). Process for 10 seconds (they say 30), scrape down the sides, process for another 10 seconds (again they say 30). Apparently this helps "whip" or "cream" the tahini. Update I'm not entirely sure this step is necessary or does what it claims to do. With our food processor, this "whipping" step throws a lot of the ingredients up on to the bottom of the lid, which requires careful scraping. Might be a waste of time. Why not addd the tahini, lemon juice, oil, garlic, cumin, salt, and half of the chickpeas, and then blitz it? Maybe I'll try that next time.

Be careful not to nick the spatula on the food processor's blade.

Add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 clove mince garlic, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp of table salt. Whip it again with the food processor for 30 seconds or so. Scrape down the sides and bottom, and whip it again for 30 seconds.  

Add 1/2 of the chickpeas and process for 1 minute. Add the remaining chickpeas and process for 2 minutes, scraping periodically. Another friendly reminder not to nick the spatula on the blade.

The hummus will likely be thick and have tiny bits of chickpeas. Either gradually add 2-3 tbsp of cold water and continue processing, or add 1-2 ice cubes. I liked using the ice cubes because they stir things up in the bowl. Also, they cool things down, which might help balance the heat being added by the processing. Do the above until the desired consistency is achieved. Taste and adjust as needed.

This should all fit in a 500ml mason jar. Serve with a thin layer of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika, sumac, or za'atar.

Source: also Inspired Taste

Naan bread (low sodium)

Add to the bowl of a stand mixer:

• 2 cups flour (whole grain, bread, whatever you got)
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp ground white pepper (skipped this time b/c kids)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder (aka garlic granules)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (bottled was ok, fresh is probably preferred)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup warm water (mine was around 38C, ideal is 41-46C)

Stir that around with the dough hook on medium until it starts to form a dough. Lower the speed a notch, and add flour 1 tbsp at a time until the dough comes away from the sides. Knead with the machine for 5 minutes, or 10 minutes if by hand. Place the dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl, and cover. Let rest for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 8 balls, cover with mixing bowls, towel, or whatever, and let rest again for 10 minutes give or take.

Heat a cast iron pan to 450F or slightly higher, maybe 475. Do not add oil to the pan. It should be dry.

On a well-floured surface, and with a well-floured short rolling pin (dowel), flatten the ball into a disk roughly 6-8 inches in diameter. Gently knock off any excess flour by passing the disk between your hands, flap, flap, flap. Flop the disk into the hot pan, and let it cook 1-2 minutes until it is puffed up and has nice brown spots. Flip it over, and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the colouring is what you want. Remove and put onto a plate for immediate consumption, or onto a cooling rack.

After each patty, wipe any flour out of the hot pan, so it doesn't burn and affect the next slice of naan bread.

Source: https://www.cukebook.org/recipes/low-sodium-flatbread-recipe/