Back to School, Greek Style

Today was my husband’s first day of Greek class. No, we are not talking about My Big Fat Greek Wedding kind of Greek classes, but language classes. You see, my husband is in seminary, and Greek is the language of the New Testament.

It wasn’t until I had already made dinner plans for tonight that I thought, “I should have made a Greek dinner!” You know, lamb kebabs or moussaka, a greek salad, and baklava for dessert? However, I have never made any of these except the salad, so I’ll stick with what I had planned for dinner, and whip up one of my husband’s favorite after-school snacks—hummus and pita bread. It’s not Greek, but middle-eastern, so close enough!

The hummus is very easy, but the pita bread can be a little time consuming. It’s worth a try, if you are willing to put fourth the effort. If not, whip up the hummus and buy some pita bread from the store. It’s a great after school snack!

Hummus

2 (15.5 ounce) cans of chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup tahini paste

2-3 lemons

2 tablespoons liquid from chickpeas

2 tablespoons olive oil

cayenne pepper (to taste)

Put the garlic in a food processor; pulse until it is well “chopped.” Add all of the other ingredients and blend until desired consistency.

Note: I sometimes add olive salad mix, or kalamata olives, or whatever kind of olives that I have on hand. It's really good, and you should try it. But, of course, it is not mandatory.

Pita Bread

2 ½ cups warm water

1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1 tablespoon honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups white flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

In a small bowl, stir the flours and salt together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add yeast and honey to 1 cup of warm water and stir until dissolved. Mix in ½ cup of flour mixture and let stand about 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Slowly add the rest of the flour and water mixture and mix on low speed for about 10 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl when necessary. Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes, and mix on low speed for about 5 more minutes.

Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl and turn to coat the top of the bread (or I used Pam spray to spray the top of the dough). Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour (or until doubled in size).

Preheat the oven to 500º and place a cookie sheet in the oven.

On a well-floured surface, turn out the dough (sprinkle some flour on top; the dough will be sticky and a bit difficult to work with). Using a knife or a spatula, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. The dough will stick to the counter, so make sure that you use plenty of flour and coat the pieces. Using your hands, spread each piece into a 6 inch round, like a small pizza crust. Let the rounds rest for 10 minutes. Working with two rounds at the time, transfer them to the oven and cook for 4 minutes. Flip them over with a spatula and cook for 1-2 minutes more.

**The pitas are supposed to “puff,” but only one of the six that I made puffed. If it does puff, press down with your spatula until it is mostly flat. If yours do not puff, and you want it to puff (so that you’ll have a little pita pocket to make sandwiches, etc.), try spraying the round with water 2-3 minutes before you put it in the oven.