A little bit of miscellaneous
On the cobblestone in front of the Pantheon in Rome. Funny no?
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A few days ago I decided the time for homemade hummous had come. It hits me a few times a year. It's one of those foods that doesn't excite me all that much, but every now and then I just feel like beating up some chickpeas. And G likes it, so whatever, right? The problem is that he has recently begun to insist that the chickpeas should be peeled. I thought this was an INSANE idea but I actually found proof of this in other recipes. I was not happy about that.
So this time I actually stood there and peeled 2 cans worth of chickpeas.
Really.
It was about the most tedious thing I can imagine doing. It's not nearly as fun as, say, peeling fava beans, which I actually do get a kick out of. So I'm kind of wondering, do you think it's actually worth it to peel them? Does it affect the flavour of hummous, for instance? I'm hoping you'll say no, but I'm willing to hear your arguments.
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On the weekend I bought some pork ribs. I've bought them once before but I just coated them in a homemade barbecue sauce and threw them on the barbie. This would be only the second time in my life buying pork ribs, and this time I had to cook them in the oven. I knew I wanted to use my unopened can of treacle (the British version of dark molasses) and after conferring with a friend, I mixed the treacle up with some sweet chili sauce and soy sauce and lathered it all over the ribs.
Man were those good. Rich and dark like mahogany, slightly sweet with lots of caramelized bits.
They were nice and meaty too, not fatty like some can be. We licked those bones clean I tell you.
And then I knocked my wine over onto our new rug. And while I gasped in horror G just said "I'm glad you were the first one to spill something on it and not me." And then he went back to eating his pork ribs.
Gotta love it.
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On Saturday my aunt was in town and we met up at Harrod's intending to do some shopping. We soon realized the golden rule and that is this: Do not go to Harrod's on a Saturday 2 weeks before Christmas. That's all I've got to say about that.
We hightailed it out of there, and hopped in a taxi because it was pouring rain, again. Our destination was Moro. She had never been there before and I LOVE taking people there for the first time. I had chargrilled squid with harissa to start, and my main was a wood roasted pork with chickpea puree and cabbage with pancetta and chestnuts.
Yes, it was good. The main dish felt kind of Christmasy with the chestnuts, and I will take anything that has a sprinkle of pancetta in it.
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And I think that's about all I wanted to get off my chest.
Now about that chickpea thing.. Peel or don't peel?
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(click on the label below for my other posts about Moro)
posted by Michèle at 3:53 AM
10 Comments:
my theory on the chickpeas is that you should leave the skins on for more fiber...oh, and put white wine onto the red wine spill it will take off the stain lickety-split.
Definitely don't peel. If you peel, the hummus will be smooth and you might as well buy it from the supermarket and save yourself the trouble of cleaning your food processor. Leaving the skins on gives it that nubbly home-made texture. I think putting a swirl of olive oil and loads of paprika on top makes a big difference.
Nice picture - a photo opp in and of itself indeed.
And chick peas. If they did not rank as one of my least favorite foods, I'd feel qualified to weigh in. So that being said, I wouldn't bother peeling them, simply out of spite.
#1 I love LOVE this post.
#2 Does MORO peel chickpeas for chickpea puree?
#3 G really licked the bones clean? ;) You! yes, I am sure of that!
I never peel the chickpeas when making hummus, because they add great texture...but I like to peel them when I eat them whole. (And yes, my friends make fun of me for doing so...)
Nooooooo. You di'int? Really? Peeled chickpeas? You must be crazy in love. I would never do that. I sometimes run the hummus through a coarse sieve after having pureed it, just to make it smoother. But no way would I peel the chickpeas.
I would like some of your pork ribs, though? Please? I wont spill wine on the carpet. I hope. But I guess I shouldn't make promises I'm not sure I can keep;)
Kat, hmm, I like the fiber reasoning. I may use that one. As for the stain, I had no white wine on hand! Although I have used that trick before with success. This time I resorted to some carbonated water which wasn't as effective but seemed to do the trick satisfactorily enough.
Zoe, another good point! I do hate the post-hummous making cleaning process. Especially if I'm all tired out from peeling the damn things!
Kevin, glad you like the pic, and I fully support your "out of spite" reasoning. Although I have to say that its not often that I hear people proclaim such dislike for chickpeas--I think you may actually be the first! (for me anyway)
Alisa, I should ask Moro if they do, although it did seem a bit lumpy so its possible that was from the skins. And yes, G actually did lick them clean. Strange huh!
Anne, good to know. So far we are getting more votes for "do not peel". I like that, I like that alot!
Zarah, Yes I did! I shocked even myself. I saved the whole bowl of skins just so that G would see it in all its glory and I would get full credit for it. And you can totally have some pork ribs. I think if we stick to white wine we wont have to worry about staining the carpet. Sound good? ;)
I've gotta go with Zarah's sieve suggestion. Peeling chick peas...uh...let me think......
I would go through a bottle of wine easily in attempting such a task, and then by the time I finished I wouldn't be able to remember why I had started peeling them in the first place. But since you not only peeled them, but saved the skins as well, I eagerly await your recipe for chick pea skin appetizers!
Brenda, your comment is too funny! I should definitely work on some sort of chickpea skin dish--its kind of gross and inventive all at the same time! And maybe next time, if I ever do peel them again, I will open a bottle of wine to make it less painful. ;)
Well, you can't get perfectly silky smooth hummus unless you peel the chickpeas. Lots of time in the middle east it will be made with peeled chickpeas, so I guess that's really the most "authentic" way to do it. But I usually don't bother, because it's just so tedious.
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