You know me, I’m a risk taker. A.k.a I get lazy and bake gnocchi to see what will happen, instead of cook them in boiling water as people are supposed to do.

To justify this sort of moves, I have developed a theory that all great inventors must have been lazy folks who just wanted to make their lives a bit easier… What else would motivate people to work more, and harder, to invent something new had they not seen the option to work less at the end of the process? Just think of all the risks taken! And all the years of research and investment!

Therefore, today I’d like to share with you – no, not a great invention – merely how I make a quiche crust without using unnecessary tools. My lazy-self was thinking, “Why dirty a working surface/board, a rolling pin, and a dough scraper when I can use my 8 fingers instead?” (No, I don’t have 8 finger. I do have 10 like most people. But only 8 get dirty!)

You might like this no-roll method – which can be used for tarts (which are sweet unlike a quiche which is savory; add sugar to the dough) as well – if you:

1. are a great inventor, risk taker… or not

2. are lazy like me

3. like shortcuts

4. are afraid of rolling dough with a rolling pin and/or transferring the rolled dough into the pan. Ouhuhuhuhu, scary.

5. and so on…

Here’s the process:

(Recipe at the end of the post)

Process the dough’s ingredients and stop when they start to form a ball

dump the dough inside your well-greased pan (I like to use butter, no spray.)

First, spread the dough around the edges

then, spread the rest on the bottom

Tighten with your fingers

and again around the edges

and again at the bottom, smoothing things out.

And, Ta-Da!

No-roll quiche crust

This is the same dough as the one in the French Onion Quiche recipe only this time I skipped the rolling and blind baking steps. (If you want to perform those steps, check the onion quiche recipe.) The dough turned out with a flaky and crispy bottom, so I guess blind baking was not critical.

For a 10-11-inch tart pan

2 cups flour
9 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-2 tablespoons cold water

In a bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, place flour, salt, and butter. Pulse until you get coarse pea-size crumbs, then add the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Pulse until a moistened crumbs form. If the flour mixture still looks dry and doesn’t form into a ball, add another tablespoon of water and pulse a little more.

Take the dough out of the bowl and dump into a well-greased (tart) pan. With your fingers, work the dough around the edges and the bottom of the pan, spreading it evenly (as shown in the photos above).

Wrap the pan in plastic and refrigerate while you make the quiche filling >>> Click here for the mushroom quiche recipe !

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Sometimes the simple things in life are the trickiest ones to nail down.

Not to discourage you, but you might think that by taking a no-cooking recipe with a few basic ingredients, whizzing them all together in a food processor, then voila, you’ll have hummus? Eh, no. It doesn’t quite work that way.

Life’s simplest pleasures are at times elusive, mysterious, and beyond reach. Way beyond taking one earthy ingredient, another spicy, the third playful, the other sharp, creamy, savory, and sour, and marrying them all together into one happy dip. You might think that all you need is The Formula for how to put them all together to create the one magical ultimate mixture. But no. It’s not that easy.

I used to buy store-bought pre-made hummus. Then I decided to go all the way and make my own from scratch, including cooking the dried garbanzo/chickpeas. But I gave it all up and now I settled for buying organic canned beans and continuing from there. So, it’s sort of a compromise and finding my place somewhere in the middle of the completely pre-made to the completely cooked from scratch continuum.  And why did this happen in the first place?

I have tried for years to perfect this paste and I have never expected to be faced with so many complaints and… criticism. Sniffle. Ahem ahem. Yes. My dear husband ( Hi honey!) used to complain/whine/nag that my hummus was one or more of the following:

too garlicky

too salty

too chunky

too smooth

too lemony

too thick

too thin

bla bla bla…

He thought it was THAT easy.

Until he tried to make it himself.

Well, those attempts ended pretty fast.

Indeed, the simplest things sure can be the most complicated.

You know, countries are fighting over this beige food! You got to read this NY Times article! + you’ll find a few other hummus recipes and variations over there. Next, go and read this article and you’ll see, people do go nuts when it comes to Hummus.

So don’t take it lightly!

And for sanity’s sake, let’s just agree that people of the Eastern Mediterranean (Lebanon, Israel, Palestinians, Syria, Jordan) seem to like it a lot and are very attached to it.

Now, back to us.

Where was I?

My conclusion: follow your own lead, be your own person, forget about other people, leave aside world conflicts, listen to your inner voice! What does it tell you?

So what if I like my hummus with a small puddle of fruity extra virgin olive oil that adds creaminess, some chopped parsley for color and zest, a few toasted pine nuts, and sometimes a little sprinkle of paprika (but not today).You… you have the freedom to choose and do whatever you want! Exercise it!

Just make this and taste as you go, but before it becomes too smooth… That is, if you like it chunky…

I found that using organic canned chickpeas has a similar taste to home-cooked dried beans. It’s a great shortcut and in any case, it’ll taste so much better then buying a completely pre-made one.

Oh, one more thing, tahini*! Very important. There are a few brands out there. Try a few different ones and choose the one that tastes best to you. (I like Joyva. It’s an orange and brown colored can and I’ve seen it in a few grocery stores so maybe your store carries it too, or try a local Middle-eastern store.)
 

Hummus

I believe you got my point, hummus is a very individualized food. Use more/less of any ingredient. Make it the way you like it.

Makes 2 cups

1-2 garlic cloves
1 can (14-16 oz.) organic garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini
6 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
6-8 splashes of fruity extra virgin olive oil
salt
ground black pepper
for serving: drizzle olive oil, toasted pine nuts, paprika, chopped parsley, and warm pita

Place the garlic in a bowl of a food processor and pulse until it is minced. Add all the other ingredients and pulse until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste and adjust the flavors. Add some water or olive oil if it’s too thick and pulse a few times more to the desired consistency.

* tahini is a creamy puree of sesame seeds.

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Flaky, buttery, delicate crust and a savory-sweet and creamy filling. Do I need to say more? It’s so light and satisfying that you will have room for that decadent chocolaty dessert. Although I think vanilla might work better…

Now, a word about the dough. Ohhhh, and what a dough it is! So flavorful. I have already mentioned flaky, right?!
I always thought that the bottom of the pie/galette/crostata doesn’t get as much attention as it should have. See for example your typical cardboard tasting graham cracker crust for cheesecake. Don’t you think that cheesecakes deserve a better crust than that boring thing?! I really should do something about it. The dough’s potential is not stretched to the maximum. In this recipe, however, the dough gets an extra oomph from sage. I’m sure that thyme, oregano, and/or parsley, or any other herby friend will work excellent too in this recipe. You really really should try this.

Butternut Squash Galette
Slightly adapted (in *) from a recipe in Gourmet magazine, February 2009

For pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For filling:
1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2- by 1/4-inch slices (4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise
6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, crumbled
A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked*
Pine nuts, partially toasted*

Make dough:
Pulse flour, butter, sage, and sea salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle ice water evenly over mixture and pulse until it just forms a ball. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.) Gently press dough into a 5-inch disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make filling while dough chills:
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle. (I roasted it in a 425 F*).
Toss squash with sea salt and 1 Tbsp oil and arrange in 1 layer in a 17-by 12-inch shallow baking pan. Roast until golden brown on edges and undersides, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove squash from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

Meanwhile, wash leeks, then cook in remaining 2 tablespoons oil with a pinch of sea salt in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to cool slightly. Add squash, goat cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and toss gently.

Make galette:
Roll out dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Transfer to a baking sheet. Arrange filling in an even layer in center of dough, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border. Fold dough in on itself to cover outer rim of filling, pleating dough as necessary. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake galette until crust is cooked through and golden on edges, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes before serving.

Cooks’ note: Pastry dough can be chilled up to 1 day. Filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!
Nurit

This recipe was linked to in Magazine Mondays hosted by the wonderful food blog Cream Puffs in Venice. Go check it out and see for yourslef the lovely recipes and gorgeous food photos, but don’t drool, OK?

Also check what’s Sweet and Smoky and what’s “Crunchy”