I love starter dishes. They are my favorite part of any meal and are usually more interesting to me than an entree with side dishes. On the rare occassions when we go out to eat, Jimmy and I will often just order a variety of different starters and share everything. It's my favorite way to eat.
Who doesn't love finger foods? They are fun, usually easy to throw together, allow me to eat while holding a baby and oftentimes are exactly what is needed at the end of a long day, glass of wine already in hand.
Whenever I think of the film Mermaids, I think of that line Charlotte Flax says near the beginning: A word about Mrs. Flax and food: the word is "hors d'oeurves." Fun Finger Foods is her main source book and it's all the woman cooks.
I laugh everytime I think of Cher's character in that movie when it comes to feeding her family. I often wonder if that will end up being me when my girls are older and I am still serving them fun finger foods for us all to share.
So while this dip isn't a meal at all, or even that interesting of a starter to be honest, I will somewhat embarassingly admit that I would eat this dolloped on toasted crostini, perhaps even crowned with a pine nut or two if I had any, arranged on a fun platter along with whatever raw veggies might be around and happily call it dinner for myself.
There are dozens of starter dishes I love and make. The reason I am sharing this particular dip is simply because I needed to use what I had already here and I wanted something easy and quick. I was thinking initially that I wanted to use white beans as I usually make a similar dip using cannelini beans and parsley, but since I had neither one of those ingredients on hand, but rather some lovely micro-greens and a can of chick peas, this essentially became a hummus with a bit of a kick.
I love how greens make me feel so I am always looking for new ways to get them into my body. The key here is to really kick up the garlic and lemon juice otherwise the greens will make this dip too bitter. I'm not usually drawn to spicy foods, but when I was tasting the hummus it needed something and the tabasco sauce was definitely it. Its job is more about rounding out the flavors rather than turning up the heat.
As an added bonus, this is a great way to serve a bit of greens to those who normally shy away from them.
Hummus with two snaps and a twist
1 can garbanzo beans, partially drained
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons tahini
juice from one lemon
a few shakes of Tabasco sauce
a healthy handul of micro greens
1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt to taste
Place all ingredients except for olive oil into a food processor. Turn on processor and drizzle olive oil through the top until and continue to process until pureed. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking. I usually drizzle more olive oil on top because I like it that way, but it's certainly optional.
Serve with toasted baguette that has been rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of oregano, toasted pita chips or whatever raw veggies you have on hand.
Mmmm....reading this had made me long for a humous yummy snack, I also LOVE starters and could just pick and graze my way through a table full!
I totally heart your beautiful blog and am wearing my gorgeous yoga pendant as I type.
Love and virtual hugs, Sue xx
Posted by: sue | August 26, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Ooops, forgot to say that I have posted on my blog about my gorgeous pendant. Thank you so so much Stacey x
Posted by: sue | August 26, 2010 at 12:35 AM