Mezze for Eid weekend

The end of Ramadan and the advent of summer means long evenings spent with friends, hopefully lingering over some cold drinks and tasty snacks. Hummus is an obvious classic that never gets old or disappointing, especially when it’s made right. The recipe I am including here is your perfect canvas to experiment with. It’s great eaten as is, or you could get creative and top it with some leftover braised meat, or serve it alongside some roasted potatoes. But what I like about these recipes is that they are relatively fuss free and don't require too much lingering over a hot stove. They’re made with ingredients that you’re likely to have around the house. The moutabal — a Syrian version of baba ganoush -— and the fried zucchini labneh dip make use of two of the best vegetables of the season. All of these dishes are best served with copious amounts of shami bread for maximum enjoyment. 

 

Cooking time 

Less than 1 hour 

*Plus soaking the chickpeas the night before 

Serves 4–5

 

Silky Hummus 

250g cups dried chickpeas 

1 teaspoon baking soda

Half a cup tahini 

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cloves garlic crushed

Half a cup of ice water 

Olive oil

Sea salt

Bread to serve 

The night before you want to make the hummus, soak the chickpeas in a large bowl completely filled with water and placed in the fridge overnight.

When ready to make, drain the chickpeas. Put a saucepan on high heat and add the drained chickpeas and baking soda. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add plenty of water and bring to a boil. Then allow to cook, skimming off any scum and skins that float to the surface. The chickpeas will need to cook between 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on what kind they are and their freshness. Sometimes they will have to cook for longer. Once ready, they should be soft, breaking up easily when pressed between your thumb and finger, but not mushy. 

Drain the cooked chickpeas and blend in a food processor or with a hand blender until a smooth paste. Then, with the machine running, add the lemon juice, tahini, salt and olive oil. At the end, add some of the ice water gradually until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside, covered in cling film for 15 minutes before eating or put in the fridge until ready to use. Serve on a plate drizzled with more olive oil.

 

Eggplant Moutabal 

4 eggplants (small to medium-sized, not bigger than the size of a hand)

3 tablespoons of tahini

3 tablespoons of greek yogurt

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 teaspoon of sea salt

Parsley chopped to garnish

Pomegranate seeds to garnish

Bread to serve

Prick the eggplants with a fork a few times (this stops them from exploding when they are cooking so don’t skip this) and then put each one directly on a burner flame of your stove which you have set to medium high. Char the eggplants for around 20 minutes, turning frequently so that they are cooked all over. Make sure you don’t leave them unattended because they can overcook.

You will know they are ready once they have turned completely soft and gooey. Put them aside to cool off. When they are cooled, gently peel off the skin and discard the stems. But keep one of the eggplants with its stem intact, to use as a garnish later.

In a bowl, mix the eggplant flesh, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, tahina and salt. Taste as you mix and adjust until it tastes right to you. Then top with remaining eggplant that you have mostly peeled the skin off, the chopped parsley and a few pomegranate seeds.

 

Fried Zucchini, Mint, Labneh Dip 

4 zucchini sliced into half-centimeter rounds

Small handful of fresh mint

Small handful of chives, ripped up 

Olive oil

Sea salt

200g labneh

Bread to serve

Cut the zucchini into slices and cook in a frying pan on medium heat until golden, around 10–15 mins. Drain on a paper towel.

Get a plate and spread labneh over it. Arrange the zucchini slices over the labneh. Then sprinkle over mint, chives, a little sea salt and drizzle over some olive oil. Serve alongside bread.

 

Secrets to make these dishes work

Hummus: even though it seems simple a lot of people find hummus difficult to make and end up with a chalky, goopy mess. This is usually due to the chickpeas, not a lack of skill. Dried chickpeas differ wildly, meaning that they require different cooking and soaking times, so don’t despair if they take longer to cook and never skip on soaking them in plenty of water the night before. This is also where the baking soda comes in: adding it while cooking will not only speed up cooking time but will give you a creamier, silkier texture. The same goes for the ice water, which lightens the starchiness of the chickpeas and helps make the final product silky. 

 

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