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As we come upon this long holiday weekend, what do we most need?
Without a doubt, we all need dips.
Whether for a party, potluck, beach day or simply hanging around appreciating your life, a well-made dip should serve you in good stead.
This one gets a head start with purchased hummus, available at most grocery stores, but we amp it up with a few special aromatics. They take it over the top to make a memorable appetizer worthy of your friends, family and the holiday.
The dip recipe comes to us from Fiona Afshar, a talented cook from Malibu. She taught a Persian cooking class recently at her lovely home, and I was lucky enough to attend and watch the magic in her kitchen. A natural cook, she stirs with a smile on her face, encouragement to her students to enjoy the process, and she visibly enjoys sharing the special flavors and culinary techniques of her culture.
I learned that hummus, already a treat all by itself, can ascend to a simply sublime appetizer with just a few Fiona tricks.
Lucky us, she’s willing to share.
Recipe: Hummus with Caramelized Onions and Portobello Mushrooms
Summary: Purchased hummus gets the treatment from a few aromatics, which takes it to an astral plane of deliciousness.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 large or 2 small Portobello mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 (16-ounce) container plain hummus (she uses Trader Joe’s brand)
- Garnish: drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, an extra sprinkle of cumin and cayenne for the top
Instructions
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften and brown slightly, 7-10 minutes.- Add the mushrooms, garlic, cumin and cayenne and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. You can speed this up by turning the mixture out into a wide bowl, which gives it a larger surface area from which to throw off heat.- When cool, mix onion-mushroom mixture into prepared hummus. Place into a pretty bowl for serving, drizzle top with olive oil and dust with additional cayenne and cumin.
- Serve with flatbread, pita bread cut into pieces, or baguette slices.
- Serves 6-8. (Or serves 2 girlfriends if they are sharing a bottle of wine!)
Source
Recipe by Fiona Afshar.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Diet type: Vegetarian, vegan
Diet tags: Gluten free
Number of servings (yield): 6-8
Culinary tradition: Persian
My rating
Welcome to my kitchen!
At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
E-mail me: Dorothy.Reinhold@gmail.com
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Dorothy, hope you bring this over to Food on Friday: Middle Eastern. Cheers from Carole’s Chatter
Carole,
Thanks for the invite! I will!
I’m not crazy about store bought hummus and it’s so easy and quick to make – will try this with my own hummus
I just made a homemade version of this. OMG. OH MY GAW!
Dorothy,
Fiona is brilliant! And for a crowd, perhaps a big pile of your crock pot caramelized onions and some mushrooms mixed into a giant vat of Sabra from Costco? Drooling right now.
Thanks!
This hummus looks delish! I like the onion and portobello mushroom combo. I’m sure it was delicious! Definitely need to try this recipe.
A persian cooking class! I am so jealous. I love what she did with store bought hummus.
mhm the hummus includes grapeseed oil! Such an exciting hummus recipe I can’t wait to try it out.
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