Mezze
Going through travel photos from Israel this past weekend was making me hungry. I won’t lie – the food in Tel Aviv was incredible. And the concept of mezze – those small plates brought out en mass at the beginning of the meal is such a lovely way to start off a night. You will see similar variations on a theme around the Mediterranean. I also miss those pre-pandemic dinner parties – I love to make a few Mediterranean mezze or small plates for appetizers. It is a great way to showcase color and variety, but also these dishes can be made in advance and served at room temperature, perfect for the host who doesn’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all night. Here are a few of my favorite mezze, inspired by our travels:
Classic hummus
Adapted from the cookbook, Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi. This recipe is widely circulated on the internet for good reason. I like using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot for cooking chickpeas quickly; The Kitchn has a great method for this that also involves soaking, but you can get by without a pre-soak if you are in a rush.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup dried chickpeas
- 1 tsp baking soda
- a few pinches of sea salt
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons tahini (I prefer Soom)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 lemon, juiced (4 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Flat bread, pita bread, or raw veggies for serving
Instructions:
- Rinse chickpeas, and pick out any debris. Cook via one of 3 methods:
- 1. To cook your chickpeas stove top (the Jerusalem method): Soak chickpeas in 4 cups of cold water overnight. The next day, drain the chickpeas, and place in a medium saucepan with the baking soda. Cook over high heat for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook, skimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface. The chickpeas will need to cook for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness, sometimes even longer. Once done, they should be very tender.
- 2. To cook your chickpeas with a pressure cooker (The Kitchn method): Combine chickpeas and 1 tsp salt in the pressure cooker with 4 cups cold water and soak overnight, 10-12 hours. Drain (don’t rinse) the chickpeas, cover with 3 cups cold water, and cook for 25 minutes under high pressure. Naturally release pressure for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, release any remaining pressure by opening the valve.
- 3. For us normal humans who forgot to soak the chickpeas overnight, and guests are coming soon: Throw your chickpeas and 1 tsp salt in the pressure cooker with 4 cups cold water. Cook for 45 minutes under high pressure. Naturally release pressure for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, release any remaining pressure by opening the valve.
- Drain the chickpeas. Remove any skins that have separated – but hopefully your chickpeas are tender enough that you won’t notice the few skins left on. You should have roughly 3 2/3 cups of chickpeas.
- Place the chickpeas in a food processor (reserve a few for garnish, if you like), and process until you get a stiff paste. Then, with the machine sill running, add the tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic, and salt as needed (depending on how salty your cooked chickpeas were; in the Jerusalem recipe, you won’t have added salt yet so you will need 1 to 1.5 teaspoons). Finally, slowly drizzle in the ice water and allow it to mix for about five minutes, until you get a very smooth and creamy paste. Taste for salt and acidity.
- Transfer the hummus to a shallow bowl, cover, and let it rest for 30 minutes. If not using right away, refrigerate until needed – bring it out 1/2 to 1 hour before you plan to serve it.
- To serve, swirl hummus over a shallow bowl, drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil, and scatter a few chickpeas over the top. You can also sprinkle it with spices such as za’atar. or toasted ground cumin seed.
Carrot hummus
This is a popular dish among our friends, and even my picky father! Add as little or as much of the harissa as you like – store bought versions vary widely in heat and spice, so adjust the amount to your taste. Serve at room temperature.
Ingredients:
- 5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (for best results, toast whole cumin seeds and then grind)
- a few pinches of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon black caraway seeds
- 1 tsp harissa paste (to taste)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 lemon, zested
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Lemon slices, carrot tops, and/or parsley for garnish
- Flat bread or pita bread for serving
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400’C. Place carrot slices on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over carrots and toss to coat evenly. Season with cumin and a pinch of sea salt. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, shaking pan once halfway through. When there are 5 minutes of cooking time left, sprinkle coriander seeds and black caraway seeds over carrots.
- Remove carrots from oven, check to see that they are tender, and cool slightly.
- In a food processor, combine carrots (and any oil in the pan), harissa paste, lemon zest, and chopped garlic clove and pulse until combined, scraping down mixture with a spatula. At this point, scrape, add lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and pulse until you have a chunky paste (I prefer mine a bit chunky, but you can also process it until completely smooth, like the texture of humus. Taste for heat, salt and acid, adding more to taste if necessary. Carrot hummus can now be stored in the fridge until ready, or rest at room temperature for 30 min.
- To serve, mound the carrot hummus in a shallow bowl. Use a spoon to create a swirl indent, and drizzle with another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Garnish with lemon slices, and carrot tops or parsley.
Baked Herb & Pistachio Falafel
This is a favorite falafel recipe of ours, modified from Sprouted Kitchen, with lots of flavor coming from the herbs – and I love that it is baked, not fried.
Ingredients:
- 12 sprigs mint
- 12 sprigs cilantro, include stems
- 2/4 cup shelled pistachios
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (from ~1/2 cup dried)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp buckwheat flour (or another flour of choice)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375′. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
- Pulse the herbs in a food processor. Add the pistachio nuts and pulse again to chop. Add the chickpeas, garlic, onion, oil, cumin, flour and baking soda and blend for thirty seconds, scraping down sides when necessary. You want the mixture a bit rough.
- Using your hands, form 18-20 small round falafels. Place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake them for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through, until browned.
- Meanwhile, while the falafel bake, make the dipping sauce: stir together 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 clove minced garlic, salt and pepper. Adjust salt and acidity to taste.
- Serve falafels warm with the dipping sauce.
Take your mezze spread further:
The chef Yotam Ottolenghi is always a great resource for mezze recipes! Many of his recipes are available on the Guardian website; I have never met an Ottolenghi recipe for eggplant that I didn’t like, and the tomato pomegranate salad is pretty fantastic. Check out Jerusalem, the cookbook he co-authored with Sami Tamimi.
Sami Tamimi also co-authored Falastin, my newest cookbook love, with fresh takes on the cuisine of the people of Palestine.
Sababa is another great Israeli cookbook to explore – sample some recipes here.
A california-style mezze platter for entertaining from the LA Times.
From Saveur, how to organize a mezze spread.
Or… go ahead and plan a trip to Israel!