Morrocan spiced, chile spiced, sweet or salty. These chickpeas go well with any salad, side or substitute for the usual rice and/or potatoes.

(more…)

I’ve never been a maker of particularly traditional homous. I think I’ve added tahini to homous once or twice in my life. I’m always throwing together interesting combinations with my pureed chickpeas, and sometimes they suck, but most of the time they’re really, really good. This was one of the good ones!

In place of tahini, I used coconut milk, and rather than lemon, fresh lime juice. I also added powdered yellow curry and a chaat masala mix I picked up in the import aisle at the grocery store. You could really use any combination of spices you’d throw in a curry for this – cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili, whatever. I really like the idea of putting curry paste in it. The key is the coconut milk, I think, and the spices, to make a creamy Indian style dip.

I like to top my homous with a dash of olive oil, some paprika and parsley, and a sprinkling of lightly toasted pine nuts for looks and tastiness.

When our friend Chelsea came to visit and told us she was on a very specific diet – no oils, no grains, and no sugars, among other rules – I took it as a challenge. The eggplant rolls are inspired by something I’d seen at Granville Island Public Market. The eggplant is marinated and then lightly roasted. Inside is a chickpea spread delicately flavoured with fresh cilantro and lemongrass, and I made a sugar-free sweet chili sauce from scratch.