Hummus gets kicked up with the addition of kalatmata olives, and this quick flatbread takes less than 10 minutes to make and is the perfect accompaniment!
Do you ever have one of those nights when instead of making dinner you just want to snack? It happens to me all the time – I happen to love snacking, I think even more than I love eating actual meals. And if you ask me hummus is the perfect snack; its creamy and savory, quick and easy to make, and reasonably healthy. And, just like my Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce, this Kalamata Hummus with Quick Flatbread is the perfect meal after a long day of work because I don’t even have to stop at the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make it (most of the time). All it takes is a can of chickpeas, a few fresh herbs, and whatever other flavorings you may want to add – I chose kalamata olives but could use sundered tomatoes or roasted red peppers. And my quick flatbread is the perfect accompaniment and even easier to make, and I’m almost positive you have all the ingredients sitting in your kitchen right now. You’ll be amazed at how easy this snack, AKA dinner for me, is to make!
I think one of the reasons I love snacks so much, besides the fact that of course they’re super delicious and really fun to eat, is because they always remind me of parties or get-togethers. Whenever my mom has friends over to her apartment, even if were are going out to eat afterwards, she has a bit of hummus and baby carrots to snack on. Whenever we go to visit my grandmother “Nana,” she always has hummus and pita chips set out to hold us over until dinner. Snacks just bring back all of those memories of good friends and family, barbaques at upstate houses with sprawling outdoor decks, laughing and telling stories while surrounded by huge trays of appetizers and snacks, with hummus almost always present on one of them. I guess you could say hummus – and honestly I think this of all snacks – is one of those foods that brings people together. Party food always seems to do that, and thats what its meant to do: it can be chowed down on while laughing and talking and telling stories, and all one-handed so that the other hand is free to hold a drink, pull someone into a warm embrace, and of course totally use your hands to talk and tell a story, as my family is very well versed in doing.
All it takes is a few minutes to make this kalamata hummus and you will be transported right back to one of those warm get togethers. Just throw some kalamata olives, a can of chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt into the food processor and let it whirl until smooth and creamy. I added cilantro for a bit of freshness, but you can use any fresh herb you have on hand such parsley or basil, or just leave it out if you don’t have any. And instead of throwing the cilantro right into the food processor with the rest of the hummus ingredients, I decided to mince it up and add it in at the end so you can see the pretty pops of green laced throughout the dip. Most hummus recipes call for tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds; I left it out honestly because I didn’t have any on hand and it can be a bit hard to find in some grocery stores. But with the added flavor from the olives, I didn’t miss it at all. If you happen to have tahini, feel free to add it in to bring a slightly nutty taste to the hummus, but if not you can skip it or even add a bit of peanut butter or handful of nuts to bring that same flavor.
Then there’s the quick flatbread I made to go with my hummus – if you thought making the hummus was easy, you’ll be floored by how simple this bread is. The only ingredients are flour, water, baking powder, olive oil and salt, and with five minutes to mix it up and knead it together you have the perfect bread dough. Then I formed the big ball of dough into a few small balls and rolled them out into super thin circles that take two minutes to to crisp up in a hot skillet. This quick flatbread is almost like an Indian naan: not quite as airy as pita, but not quite as thin as a tortilla. But it has all the same comforting qualities of fresh baked bread even though it came right out of a cast iron skillet instead of the oven: its crispy on the outside, doughy and fluffy on the inside, and downright nourishing. For any of you out there who thought you would never have the time, energy, or skill to bake your own bread, try this quick flatbread and you’ll be amazed what you can do with so little time and effort. And when you tear open that crispy shell and you’re met with a cloud of steam billowing out from the hot inside, you’ll want nothing more than to dunk this fresh bread into that creamy and savory hummus. A fresh, homemade snack has never been so easy!
- For the Kalamata Hummus:
- ¼ cup kalamata olives
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained
- 1 small clove of garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt to taste
- 3-4 sprigs of cilantro or any fresh herb, minced
- For the Quick Flatbread:
- 2 cups of flour
- ¾ cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus more for greasing the skillet
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- dried herbs such as oregano or thyme (optional)
- For the hummus: Add garlic, kalamata olives, chickpeas, lemon juice and a dash of salt to the bowl of a food processor. With the food processor on, stream in olive oil and blend until the hummus becomes smooth and creamy. Taste, and add more salt as necessary. Transfer hummus to a bowl and fold in minced cilantro. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few olives.
- For the Quick Flatbread: Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and dried herbs (if using) in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and olive oil and mix with a spoon and then your hands until a dough forms. The dough should be slightly sticky but still firm and not wet - if it is, add more flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead it with your hands for a a few minutes to ensure all the ingredients are well combined. Squeeze off small balls of dough - about the size that would fit in the palm of your hand or a ¼ cup dry measuring cup - until you have 8-10 small balls of dough. Flatten each dough ball with your hand and then roll out into a nice thin circle, about 7 inches in diameter.
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium skillet (preferably cast iron because it heats evenly on all sides) over medium-high heat and add a dough circle to the pan. Cook until the dough starts to puff up and has browned nicely, about 2 minutes. Flip the flatbread over and cook the other side another 1½ minutes. Remove from the pan and place between clean kitchen towels to keep them warm, and repeat with remaining dough balls. Dunk in hummus, use for wraps, or just to eat by itself and enjoy!
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