Cava Epilogue

So, after having some incredible hummus and "sun-dried" tomato spread, I decided that I had to recreate some of the magic of Cava on my own. I started hunting for good recipes for the spread that dazzled us at Cava. In my search, I found that the spread was not based on sun-dried tomatoes, but was instead a harissa. Harissa is the African counterpart to ketchup, but decidedly has a much more complex flavor. A simple recipe contains stewed tomatoes, roasted red peppers, crushed red pepper, garlic, oregano, and EVOO. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the proportions used by Cava, but luckily I learned that Cava sells it at Whole Foods!

Harissa

I also wanted to experiment with a roasted garlic hummus. The ingredients follow, but essentially you just put everything in the food processor and buzz it to your desired consistency. If you find it's not as creamy as you want, then just add some more EVOO and buzz it again. Also, for roasted garlic, just cut about a 1/4 inch off of a head of garlic, rub some EVOO on the exposed garlic cloves, and roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (be careful they don't burn).

Ingredients:

- 1 can of chickpeas

- 1 tbsp. olive oil (more like 2 -3 tbsp. for creamier texture)

- 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

- 1 tsp. oregano

- 2 tbsp. tahini (or 2 tbsp. peanut butter as substitution)

- salt/pepper to taste

- 2 tbsp. roasted garlic

Ingredients

Garlic, pre-roast

The Finished Product