Sarah and I have a tradition of going to Aladdin’s on the way home after a vacation. We’re generally worn out from the trip and feeling a bit out of it, and Aladdin’s food always makes us feel better. Specifically, though, I think it’s the hummus and felafel that does it. Hummus always makes me feel better when I’m tired, and it helped get me through the day lately after only three hours of sleep.
Here’s an easy recipe:
1 can chick peas*, drained
liquid reserved from chick peas (optional)
1 lemon, juiced
3–4 Tb. tahini (stir with bread knife if separated)
2 cloves of garlic
1 t. kosher salt
olive oil
1/2 t. cumin (optional)
Crush garlic and salt together in a mortar and pestle (optional, but improves flavor). Put chick peas in your food processor (preferable), blender or a bowl. Process or mash together chick peas, 2 TBs lemon juice, 3 Tbs tahini, and some of the garlic and salt. Taste and add remaning lemon juice, tahini, garlic, chick pea liquid (or water) and olive oil to taste.
Serve with pita, pita chips and/or fresh vegetables for dipping. Feel free to make this the basis of your meal, perhaps with some fruit as well. Even kids usually enjoy this.
Use fresh lemon juice. Bottled has a bitter aftertaste which will adversely affect this dish. Fresh lime juice works fine if you don’t have lemons on hand. If you must use bottled–it’s 10pm, there’s no fresh citrus in the fridge, and you’re craving hummus–use it sparingly.
Why is hummus so restorative? It helps to look at the ingredients. Chick peas are high in fiber, protein, B-vitamins (like most beans), calcium, folic acid, potassium, and iron (click here for more on this). Both chick peas and tahini are also very high in zinc. Note the following from WebMD about zinc:
Zinc is integral to almost every cell of the human body, it keeps the immune system healthy, helps heal wounds, aids in breaking down carbohydrates, fats and proteins, maintains the body’s keen sense of both taste and smell, regulates testosterone and supports the body in growing and developing properly. In addition, scientists continue to investigate the role that zinc may play in preventing prostate cancer and diabetes [and] in regulating male fertility…
The same article contains a chart showing only oysters, beef tenderloin and dark meat turkey above chick peas in zinc per serving–and how many of those will you eat on a regular bassis? And hummus tastes a whole lot better than zinc lozenges, where a lot of people get their zinc when they’re feeling down. Plus there’s a fair amount of controvery about whether supplements have the same effect as vitamins and minerals from food.
*If you’re feeling ambitious, peel each chick pea by squeezing it gently until the inner section comes out, then discard the skins. This will improve the taste and texture of the hummus and gives it the white color you’ll usually find at a Middle Eastern restuarant. Use water (or more olive oil) rather than chick pea liquid if you peel the chick peas. The flavor of the liquid will muddy the flavor of this kind of hummus.
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