Frico (Crisps made from Parmigiano-Regianno)

From Daniel

This is not so much a recipe as it is a preparation.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Coarsely shred the cheese. I use Parmigiano-Regianno, but any good grating cheese (Asiago, Pecorino, Kefalotyri or even a fairly old gruyere) would work. The amount of cheese you use would, of course, vary depending upon how many of these things you want to end up with. 4 ounces makes roughly a dozen, give or take a few.

Working in relatively small batches, line a large baking sheet with parchment or a nonstick liner (silicone). Combine the grated cheese and a bit of freshly ground pepper (I use about 1/4 teaspoon for every 4 ounces of cheese).

Measuring about a tablespoon of the cheese mixture at a time, arrange the mixture about 4 inches apart on the parchment or liner. Spread and flatten each mound evenly to make a 3 or 3 1/2 inch round. Thinner is better. Thick Frico are chewy rather than crisp.

Bake sheets individually in the middle of the preheated oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Leaving the frico on the baking sheet, cool them for about 2 minutes before transfering each crisp with metal spatula to rack to cool completely. These guys are fragile so be careful.

These are terrific crumbled on vegetables or in salads. They’re a great garnish. Also, by pressing them while still warm into mini-muffin cups you can make little Frico cups that can be filled with all kinds of savory things for delicate, wonderfully-self-contained appetizers.

You can play with these things a lot, actually. You can add herbs and spices, for instance. Try rosemary or thyme. I like adding a little smoked paprika to the mixture. I’ve seen a very interesting recipe that uses cumin seeds. I haven’t tried it yet but it sounds lovely.

Black Chick Pea Hummous

14 ounce package of Black Kabuli Chick Peas, from Timeless Natural Foods
1/2 to 1 ounce of raw, peeled garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
2 – 3 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper
3/4 cup Moomtax Koura Extra Virgin Olive Oil
juice of two lemons, freshly squeezed
1 cup Al-Wadi tahina

Wash the chick peas thoroughly. Place them in a pan with at least 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then lower the flame. Simmer for at least 2 hours. We found that three and a half hours was about right for hummous. Drain the chick peas, reserving about a cup of the bean liquor (the water the beans were cooked in – just in case).

Cool the chick peas completely.

In the bowl of a food processor, using the metal blade, pulse the chick peas, the garlic, the lemon zest, the salt and the Aleppo pepper until they resemble the texture of coarse corn meal. With the food processor running, add the olive oil and the lemon juice. Then, with the food processor still running, add the tahina. At this point, if the hummous is too thick, you may add, tablespoon at a time, the bean liquor until the hummous acheives the desired consistency.

Serve at room temperature, garnished with olive oil and sliced cucumber, with warm pita bread, feta cheese and olives.

The yield is approximately 5 cups, depending upon how much liquid you add to acheive the consistency you desire.

Recipe by Daniel C. Mcglothlen

Homemade Mayonnaise

This is Daniel’s recipe. He’s a PFI employee. He says that once you’ve tried homemade mayonnaise, you’ll never go back.

1 each large egg yolk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Salt to taste (at least a half teaspoon, usually a teaspoon or more – and I find I do need more when I make this in the food processor)
1 cup Maestri Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon mustard (optional)

You can make this in a food processor (with a metal blade), a blender, or in a bowl with a whisk – but my preference is in my stand mixer with the whisk attachment. The key to mayonnaise made in a food processor or blender is not to overprocess to the point that the mayonnaise heats up. If that happens, the sauce will separate. Not good. This doesn’t happen in the stand mixer scenario or when you make it by hand. I find I also get a much lighter mayonnaise when I make it in the stand mixer than when I make it in the food processor.

Whether by hand or machine, combine the first three ingredients in the bowl or blender jar just until thoroughly mixed.

With the machine running or while whisking vigorously, begin to stream the oil by drops (fairly slowly at first) into the egg/lemon mixture. As the mayonnaise begins to take shape you can add oil a little more quickly, but never much faster than a very thin stream. I find, again, that the stand mixer is the most forgiving on these points. And, remember, you don’t want the mixture to get hot or it will break.

At last, when you’ve added all your oil, taste the sauce and adjust the salt as needed. This is also the stage at which you can add flavorings – such as the mustard I mention.

Note: omit the lemon juice and add a fair amount of garlic and you’ve made a simple aioli.

Hummous bi Tahini, PFI-style

From Daniel, PFI employee

1 15. 5 ounce can Goya Chick Peas
2/3 cup Al Wadi Ground Tahini
juice of 2-3 lemons
2 tablespoons Olive Oil (use a middle eastern oil, such as Alphonso’s, for this)
4 -5 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
salt

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the desired consistency is reached. I prefer my hummous to be coarse, so this takes very little time in my kitchen.

Garnish with a little olive oil (enough to keep the hummous from forming a dark skin), smoked paprika and finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.