The Yemenite Bomb (plus a zhuk recipe)
Zhuk, a Yemen paste of hot green peppers, is one of the hottest things to spice your food with. Very easy to make, and there’s also a story.
Until 1493, the only pepper outside the American continnent was the one we know today as ”black pepper”. And when Christopher Columbus brought the first chilis to Europe, no one seemed to care.
It took some 150 years until the old world came to it’s senses, but after that the tiny veg was caltivated and quickly spread to all Europe (espcialy Italy and Hungery) and from there to North Africa, the Middle-East and Asia, where it was engineered into over 2000 species and varaieties of peppers, and dozens of different spices.
Hot peppers are very common in all Midlle Eastern cuisines, where it is eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. In most hummus places in Israel and Arab countries, hot peppers are an integral part of the course - fresh or as part of a sauce of some kind (NEVER as one of the hummus ingredients).
In some places the hummus is served with Tatbila, a thin sauce from ground green peppers with lots of garlic and lemon. Many Israeli hummus places serve it with Harif (”hot”), a local variation of the North African sauce called Arissa, in which red chilis are the main ingredient. Read more
A Hummus Girl Blogger
I’m going through dozens of blogs every week, reading tasteless posts about hummus and tasteless hummus recipes. This one was different.
When commenting in other blogs, I often use “the hummus guy” as a nickname. I guess it describes well what I’m known for, and it’s a good way to differentiate myself as a blogger, since there isn’t really many competitors in the field of hummus related blogging.
I found one, though. A girl blogger called Mercedes, who has a blog called Desert Candy (an ancient nickname for dates). She describe herself as a blogger who’s “exploring a passion for cooking/baking and a love of the Middle East”. And in many cases she combines both her passions in posts about Middle Eastern food and with relevant recipes (Not all of her recipes are Middle Eastern, but some are. And there’s an index too).
Hummus in Japan
We hadn’t even have the chance to get used to the idea that there’s falafel in China, and now we’re told that there’s hummus in Japan. A lot of it.
It’ll be old news if I’d tell you that we’re fashionably late after Japan in many of the things we do. And it’s always fascinating to see how Japanese trends and inventions find their way to the west. Read more
The Hummus Rap
Several times before I adressed the subject of how the Hummus Culture affect the west. On the one hand, there’s no collision of civilizations here - people from different regions fall in love with hummus just the same, regardless of their beliefs. On the other hand - we all know that hummus is far more than just “food”. I guess we are withnessing a Peaceful Rise, than.
“…Clap your hands really fast
If you think hummus is the best
Now shake sh-shake shake your pita
If you hit the hummus with paprika”
Falafel, from Washington to Shunyi
In a post called Competing Falafel Unbleached Brun, an American blogger, reviews two Middle Eastern restaurants. One is called Old City Cafe of Jerusalem. The other’s name is Amsterdamm Falafelshop. Both are places kaming falafel in the US capital, the guy’s hometown.
Judging from the pictures (you should certainly visit brun), both places make decent foods - and that’s includes the hummus, that looks like something I would try to eat. Brun was more detailed about their falafel offering, which sounds reasonable - pretty much what every falafel joint in Israel has to offer, more or less.
The man who named his son Hummus
Is it really possible that someone would call his son after a legume, and what does that have to do with ancient Roman Philosophers.
Found this amusing story in Bintel Blog, a part of Forward’s online version. The writer, took a cab to Ta’ami Hummus in the Jerusalem and was surprised to find out the name of the cab driver was “Abu Hummus”. You should check it out - there’s also a picture. Read more
New Guinness Recored: Largest Hummus Plate ever
Over a 1000 tones of hummus were eaten last week, during Israelis Independance Day (”Yom Haatzmaut”). 400kg (881 pounds) of which in a Jerusalem event, out of a single Guiness-Record size plate.
It was last year when the American Sabra hummus manufacturer set the first Guinness Record for eating hummus in a New-York event. They served their hummus in a plate with a diameter of 3.5 meter (3.8 yards).
Last week a new the record was set in Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem: Hummus Tzabar, an Israeli hummus manufacturer, served some 400kg (881 pounds) of hummus in a 4 meter (4.35 yard) plate. This incredible hummus feast was documented of course, to verify the Guinness Record commitee it really happened. Here’s one of the pictures:
-
-
The hummus SHOP
Buy tahini, chickpeas, olive oil, falafel mix., halva & more.
-
Please vote for us
-
