Hummus Among Us (3/1/11)

It's the SSC you guys have all been waiting for! It was finally my night to take on Supper Club...and this time, I brought out the big guns. Middle Eastern night. You may say to yourself, hey, that chick's not Middle Eastern at all. And yeah, you'd be right. Somewhere in my quest to explore food that I do not understand (note my love of Ethiopian food), I sort of picked up a few things along the way. I've always been a huge fan of spanakopita (AKA spinach pie, to all you uncultured folks,) so I thought I'd share my version of it, along with some other traditional dishes.

So with the help of my absolute favorite Middle Eastern grocery store (I think technically it's Armenian/Turkish), Arax Market, a little guess work and my love of all things delicious and booze oriented, let's just say, I made things happen. Awesome things. Seriously.


Spanakopita

Ingredients:
1 16 oz bag of frozen spinach
½ package frozen filo
1 ½ packages (6 oz) feta cheese
1 or 1 ½ large onion(s)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Olive oil (enough to saute onions with)
Cooking spray
Glass pan

Preheat oven to 350. Thaw (or cheat and microwave, but not too much cuz it gets too dry) filo dough. Thaw or microwave frozen spinach in a large bowl. Squish out and drain excess water. Set aside. Chop up onions. Saute until onions are clear and a few of them are a little brown around the edges. Add onions, feta, egg, nutmeg and lemon juice to spinach.

Spray glass pan. Take about ½ of the filo dough and lay it out on the pan. Spray in between every few sheets of filo. Put spinach mixture into filo dough and fold up. Spray in folds so they stick together and spray top. Put in oven for 20-25ish minutes. Remove from oven. Enjoy!



Ahmed's Awesome Hummus*
(Admittedly, we did not actually have time to make this, but I have it on good authority that it rocks!)

food processor or blender
chickpeas (both dried/boiled or canned work )
tahini
garlic
parsley (fresh)
mint (fresh)
lemon (Lots and lots)
cumin powder
cayenne pepper
paprika
salt
olive oil
water
red bell pepper (just a tiny tiny bit)

Optional Spices
all spice
five spice
white pepper
coriander powder
lime
onion

Slowly add ingredients to a blender and keep adding to taste until it gets the right constancy.

(The water, tahini and olive oil will make it more liquidy so add a little at a time until you get the desired consistency.)

*Yes we actually know a guy name Ahmed and yes he actually has a great hummus recipe.

In additional to all this wonderfulness, I also made chicken stuffed with feta and sun dried tomatoes from my awesome crock pot cookbook and some of the other ladies brought couscous, delicious lamb meatballs, and an awesome Greek salad.


Of course, I also made my usual trip to Arax Market in Watertown. I love that place, mostly because, although it's filled with a lot of food that, while basically undefinable by American standards, still manages to all look delicious. I think they've got the best baba ghanoush ever and they have a really wide variety of different types of baklava. I opted for both.
Oh and don't forget, they also sell hookahs and shisha, for all you tobacco fans.




While they don't have a website, you can find their info on Yelp, a weird Facebook page that sort of misrepresents them or you can just go straight there. Check it!





Arax Market
585 Mount Auburn St
Watertown, MA,



Booze Pairings
Cocktail: Ouzo Cosmo
2 parts vodka
1 part orange juice

Mix ingredients with ice in shaker and pour into martini glass. While we realize ouzo does not sit well with everyone, this cocktail is a lot of fun. Even if you don’t like the anise flavor, we know you like 100 proof…

Beer: Brooklyn Lager
It is not often one encounters a lager this interesting. Even the copper color of this beer is totally different from most others. This brisk crisp beer tastes of pear and apple but also has an exciting finish. Its fruit and acidity paired perfectly with all of the dishes on our table that night. It was especially delicious with all the feta in the Greek salad and spanakopita.

Wine: White
Falanghina Feudi San Gregorio Sannio $15

Escape the Pinot Grigio rut with this awesome crisp white Italian! Its nose is fruity and floral but its palate is crisp and lively and it has a wonderful long finish. It pairs perfectly with Greek food, especially Christa’s delicious spanakopita!

Wine: Red
Juan Gil Monastrell $15

Monastrell is Spanish for Mouvedre but should also mean yummy. This is a powerful wine. It has strong aromas of red fruit, spice and vanilla and in the mouth it has smooth tannins and its alcohol gives it a rich body. Its oaky notes, though, makes it perfect to pair our Greek dinner: It can stand up to the spices of all the dishes without overpowering any of the delicate flavors. It is 15%, though, so you might want to limit yourself to just one bottle per person…


....And of course photo documentation of the event, for all of you voyeurists...

Cheers!
Christa, Rachel & Phoebe







About Christa
Christa is a comedian, artist and graphic designer living in Boston. Because most of her family is fresh off the boat, she knows a thing or two about traditional European cooking and baking, provided that the recipes are in English (Thanks a lot, crappy American school system!). She also has a vast knowledge of fancy-smancy beers made by smelly hippies. Although she has no food credits to speak of, generally speaking everything she makes is considered to be "damn good." Check out her design portfolio site, Shameless Design, if you feel like it!