Does anyone else watch Friends? Stupid, random question, I know but still? One of my favorite episodes is the one where no one is ready. Ross is desperately trying to get everyone together to go to his Museum Benefit and of course, no one is cooperating. In the midst of the chaos, Phoebe has hummus flung on her accidentally and it ruins her dress. When Rachel asks what happens, she upsettingly yells, “Hummus! I got the hummus!”. Nerdily, I say this out loud almost every time I buy store hummus. But then this week, when we started thinking about healthy options for the New Year, I thought about homemade hummus. When did I get away from making my own hummus. I did it all the time when my best friend and I lived together for two years. It was a cheap, easy and healthy app option whenever we had our friends over for game nights. It’s super healthy for you depending on what ingredients you put in. And you can adjust the batch size however you want. So what happened?
I guess like many others, it was just something that was easier to buy then make. Plus there were other flavor options and some were even portion controlled. But as I decided to go with the theme for the month of featuring some of the “Healthiest Countries in the World”, Israel got me thinking. It’s listed by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Healthiest places on the globe because of how clean their diets are. Simple ingredients with flavors like lemon, oils, spices and leaner meats and wholesome grains. Their diets were clean because they didn’t have a lot of additives. Not to knock those store bought hummus’s, but who knows what is actually in there? Does it fall in to what kind of fat you want in your diet?
As I said on social media, I like many others am now trying to rope my diet back in and shed some extra Holiday pounds that I have packed on. Two years ago, I hit my goal weight of losing 30 pounds. Sadly, some of it has crept back on over time. This year, I am determined to get that weight back off and be smarter about my choices. Israeli food is loaded with simple flavors as I said. Nothing is really too outlandish or things that you would have a hard time finding at the store. The idea for this hummus bowl was simple. Good fats, high protein and some extra veggies.
I started the night before by taking 3 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, placing plastic wrap over them and pounding them with a meat tenderizer. If you don’t have one of these, the back of a frying pan will do just fine. Doing this makes the chicken, well, more tender.
After doing that, I sliced them down into very thin slices. Almost similar to the kind of cut you’d get on a gyro or sharwarma. I placed them in a bowl and then got a marinade ready.
Fresh lemon juice, kosher salt, pepper extra virgin olive oil and the Israeli staple, Za’atar spice went in. Za’atar spice is a mix of several different things but generally is a combination of dried oregano, thyme, and/or marjoram , with sumac and toasted sesame seeds. It’s a very deliberate and intentional spice, with a specific flavor that is unique and enjoyable. This is easy to find on Amazon and in your grocery store. Mix all of this together with your chicken, cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This will infuse a ton of flavor into it.
Next up, it was time to make hummus. Another one that is simpler then most think and very enjoyable. In your food processor, Vitamix or using an immersion blender, combine all your ingredients together. Minced garlic, rinsed garbanzo beans, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and tahini. Tahini is sesame seed paste if you weren’t familiar. It literally smells like peanut butter but has a dryer, less sweet taste and texture. This is another staple Israeli ingredient and is necessary to make a hummus, an actual hummus. Place all those ingredients in and while blending, drizzle in your olive oil.
Once everything is smooth and combined, give it a taste and adjust however you’d like. Maybe you’d like more salt or some more lemon juice. How about your garlic levels? Whatever you’d like to add, add now and blend a little more. If it’s to your liking, then just transfer to a container and store in the fridge. This is another one that is better after it’s refrigerated a little bit and the flavors are able to be married together more.
Ok now it’s go time. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Taking a few strips at a time, place them carefully in the skillet and allow to brown on each side.
It’s important not to over crowd the pan as this will inhibit browning. Turn over and cook properly on the other side. Then remove from pan.
Cook all chicken and place aside.
Taking about two heaping tablespoons of your hummus, place directly in the center of a bowl or plate. Use a back of a spoon and slowly using counterclockwise motions to create a hole in the center of the hummus and making a circle on the dish.
This should leave a place for your remaining ingredients to go.
Now, you can either leave your chicken in strip pieces or you can cut them into smaller chunks. Place several pieces, roughly a cup, in the center of the hummus.
On top, I did a simple mixture of arugula, diced cucumber, diced tomato and some reserved garbanzo beans left whole. I mixed that in a small bowl with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Top the salad on your chicken and hummus. Give one last squeeze of fresh lemon juice on top and a little sprinkling of cracked black pepper. Serve with some grilled pita bread, tortilla chips ,flour tortillas or vegetables!
Homemade Israeli Hummus Bowls
Serves 4
Prep Time: 4 Hours Cook Time: 10 minutes
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8th cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Za’atar spice
- 1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
Hummus
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups Arugula
- 1/2 cup diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup diced tomato
- Olive oil, Lemon Juice, Salt and Pepper to taste
Lay chicken breasts out on cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound to tenderize with meat tenderizer or back of frying pan.
After flattening chicken, slice into thin strips or slices, similar to cut down sharwarma or gyro pieces. Place in bowl.
Place olive oil, lemon juice, za’atar spice and black pepper on chicken. Mixture chicken thoroughly in marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours for maximum flavor.
In a food processor, Vitamix or using an immersion stick blender, mince garlic cloves. Then add garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Process and drizzle olive oil in while processing. Once smooth, taste and adjust any additional seasonings to your liking. Then transfer to another container and allow to chill for more flavor.
When ready to serve, heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Doing a few strips at a time, place chicken in hot pan. Allow to brown on one side before flipping to other side. Brown on other side and remove from pan.
Continue until all chicken is done and set aside to cool.
Taking about two heaping tablespoons of your hummus, place directly in the center of a bowl or plate. Use a back of a spoon and slowly using counterclockwise motions to create a hole in the center of the hummus and making a circle on the dish.
Keep chicken in strips or cut down to smaller pieces if you’d like. Place about a cup of chicken pieces in center of hummus ring.
In a small bowl, combine arugula, cucumbers and tomato. Drizzle with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and top chicken.
Garnish with extra sprinkle of lemon juice and black pepper. Serve with grilled pita bread, tortilla chips, flour tortillas or vegetables.