Persian food, like many of the foods from a region that’s often broadly referred to as the Middle East, takes cues from a variety of influences and cultures as people traverse borders and bring their delicious foods with them. Which is why the food in America is so diverse; people have gifted us with foods from their homelands, such as tacos, sushi, pizza, beer, and…
Persian food, like many of the foods from a region that’s often broadly referred to as the Middle East, takes cues from a variety of influences and cultures as people traverse borders and bring their delicious foods with them. Which is why the food in America is so diverse; people have gifted us with foods from their homelands, such as tacos, sushi, pizza, beer, and bagels. Similarly, France has been blessed to have beans for cassoulet, chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), and croissants.
As a cook, I like dipping into various cuisines and cultures and lately, I’ve been working on Tahdig, a Persian rice dish that’s cooked on the stovetop until the bottom gets crusty, which can take an hour or longer, and requires some patience. Once done, you take a leap of faith and turn it out onto a plate so the crispy part (the tahdig) forms a golden, crackly crown on top of a bed of fragrant, saffron-infused rice…if you do it right.
I am not a big fan of the winter. I do enjoy the four seasons, but I only want winter for a day or two. I hate the cold! The snow is pretty, but only from inside, ha! Since I live in Utah and grew up in Illinois, there is no hope for me. The…
The…
I am not a big fan of the winter. I do enjoy the four seasons, but I only want winter for a day or two. I hate the cold! The snow is pretty, but only from inside, ha! Since I live in Utah and grew up in Illinois, there is no hope for me. The…
If you’re looking to add more vegetables into your weekly dinner rotation, look no further than this Sweet Potato Soup recipe. It’s packed with: carrot, onion, celery, orange bell pepper, garlic, and of course the star of the soup…swe…
If you’re looking to add more vegetables into your weekly dinner rotation, look no further than this Sweet Potato Soup recipe. It’s packed with: carrot, onion, celery, orange bell pepper, garlic, and of course the star of the soup…sweet potatoes! My favorite vegetable! It has the most vibrant, rocking orange color that I’m absolutely obsessed…
With winter in full swing, it’s chili season around here — time for our favorite cold-weather dish. But after recently running out of chili powder, we decided to make our own, and I’m so glad we did.
This homemade chili powder takes just 15 minutes to…
With winter in full swing, it’s chili season around here — time for our favorite cold-weather dish. But after recently running out of chili powder, we decided to make our own, and I’m so glad we did.
This homemade chili powder takes just 15 minutes to make when using whole dried chiles, and just 5 minutes to make if using pre-ground chiles. And we must say, it’s so fresh and much better than store-bought, so there’s no going back!
This Instant Pot hummus is super creamy and easy to make from scratch using a pressure cooker! You’ll be hooked on the flavor. Here’s a fun trick you can whip up with your pressure cooker: Instant Pot hummus! Sure, it’s easy to buy store-bought hummus. But for the very best creamy chickpea puree: homemade hummus is where it’s at! It’s a great trick using your Instant Pot, and perfect if you whip up a big batch of chickpeas. This recipe comes straight to you from our friend Sarah Copeland’s new cookbook, Instant Family Meals: an incredible collection of beautiful recipes and genius tips for your pressure cooker. Let’s get started! Why make Instant Pot hummus? Hummus has grown from a niche food (when we were kids!) to a household staple today. Really, I don’t know what our household would do without it! We do buy our hummus often, but when we can, we like to make it at home. Which is why we love this hummus recipe from Sarah’s book! Why make Instant Pot hummus? It’s got the best flavor. Many purchased hummus brands can be overly intense and garlicky, or too bland. Homemade hummus has just the right integrity […]
This Instant Pot hummus is super creamy and easy to make from scratch using a pressure cooker! You’ll be hooked on the flavor.
Here’s a fun trick you can whip up with your pressure cooker: Instant Pot hummus! Sure, it’s easy to buy store-bought hummus. But for the very best creamy chickpea puree: homemade hummus is where it’s at! It’s a great trick using your Instant Pot, and perfect if you whip up a big batch of chickpeas. This recipe comes straight to you from our friend Sarah Copeland’s new cookbook, Instant Family Meals: an incredible collection of beautiful recipes and genius tips for your pressure cooker. Let’s get started!
Why make Instant Pot hummus?
Hummus has grown from a niche food (when we were kids!) to a household staple today. Really, I don’t know what our household would do without it! We do buy our hummus often, but when we can, we like to make it at home. Which is why we love this hummus recipe from Sarah’s book! Why make Instant Pot hummus?
It’s got the best flavor. Many purchased hummus brands can be overly intense and garlicky, or too bland. Homemade hummus has just the right integrity in flavor.
It’s cheaper! Some hummus brands can be quite expensive: homemade hummus in an Instant Pot is cheaper than buying lots of hummus tubs.
It’s a great use for a batch of chickpeas. If you cook up a big batch of chickpeas in your Instant Pot, what better way to use them? Use half for hummus and half for eating.
About the book: Instant Family Meals
This recipe is from the book Instant Family Meals by our dear friend Sarah Copeland, and it truly is a masterpiece! This collection of recipes is beautifully fresh, modern and sophisticated: just like Sarah’s recipes always are. (Her other cookbooks Feast and Every Day is Saturday are both big hits in our house!)
You’ll find recipes like Sweet Potato Tacos, Eggplant Parmesan, Cacio e Pepe Risotto, and Double Chocolate Cheesecake. Yes, please! There are wholesome healthy recipes for people of every diet, including lots for vegetable-forward eaters like ourselves. Congratulations to Sarah on this new masterpiece!
A few tips for the chickpeas
Here we’ve provided a few methods for cooking the chickpeas in this Instant Pot hummus. You can cook lots of chickpeas, or just enough for this hummus. You can also soak the chickpeas to decrease the cook time and make for more tender chickpeas.
Cook just enough for the hummus. In the instructions below we’ve provided instructions to cook just enough chickpeas for the hummus recipe. This is great if you’re not sure whether you’ll use the rest of the chickpeas.
Make 1 pound chickpeas. You can cook up to 1 pound of chickpeas at one time! If you do this, you can eat the remaining chickpeas or freeze them for up to 3 months. Go to Instant Pot Chickpeas.
Soak if you have time. If you have time to soak the chickpeas over night, even better! Soak 1 pound chickpeas with 8 cups water for 10 to 12 hours. Then you can reduce the cook time to 20 to 25 minutes.
Ingredients for Instant Pot hummus
Once you’ve cooked the chickpeas, this Instant Pot hummus is a breeze to whip up! You’ll need a food processor for this task (a blender doesn’t get it smooth enough!). Here’s what you’ll need on hand:
Cooked chickpeas
Garlic
Tahini
Fresh lemon juice
Ground coriander A fun variation on the standard cumin! we loved this
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Water, as needed
A bit about tahini
If you’ve never made hummus before, you’ll need a jar of tahini! Tahini is sesame seed paste that’s most famous for its use in hummus, but it’s used in lots of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean recipes (like lemon tahini sauce!). Since it’s simply made of sesame seeds and salt, tahini is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, Paleo, keto, and Whole 30 friendly.
If you buy a jar of tahini and aren’t sure how to use it up, we’ve got lots of ideas for you! See our top Delicious & Healthy Tahini Recipes, from hummus to cookies.
More Instant Pot recipes
What else can you make with an Instant Pot? So many things! Alex and I originally weren’t into the pressure cooker trend…until we tried it for ourselves! Here are a few of our favorite ways to use an Instant Pot:
Place the chickpeas in the Instant Pot, cover with 2 inches water, and add the kosher salt. Lock the lid and place the vent in the “Sealing” position. (If you want to cook 1 pound chickpeas at once, go to Instant Pot Chickpeas instead!)
Cook on high pressure 35 minutes (unsoaked) or 25 minutes (soaked): Note that it takes about 10 minutes for the pot to “preheat” and come up to pressure before it starts cooking. Wait while the Instant Pot cooks. (During cooking, avoid touching the metal part of the lid.)
Natural release for 20 minutes: After the Instant Pot beeps, wait for another 20 minutes to let the Instant Pot naturally release pressure. (Tip: We set a timer for this part so we don’t forget!) After 20 minutes, vent any remaining steam by moving the vent to “Venting”, covering your hand with a towel or hot pad. Never put your hands or face near the vent when releasing steam. (The pressure indicator in the lid may drop on its own after 10 minutes, meaning that there is no remaining steam in the pot.)
In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 cups of the cooked chickpeas. (You’ll have a few left over, which you can use for another recipe.) Add the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, coriander, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pulse until smooth, scraping the bowl occasionally.
Turn on the processor and pour in the olive oil until a smooth paste forms, then add water to get to a creamy consistency (we added 10 tablespoons). Process for 3 to 4 minutes until super creamy and smooth. Taste and add additional salt as needed. Store refrigerated for up to 4 to 5 days.
*If you can, soak the chickpeas for 10 to 12 hours the night before. This decreases the cook time and makes for more tender beans. But you can also do it without soaking and cook longer!
We’ve grown quite fond of curries around our house, both Thai- and Indian-inspired. And after watching many friends order and enjoy tikka masala — a creamy tomato-based curry — at restaurants, I wanted to create a dairy-free version I could enjoy…
We’ve grown quite fond of curries around our house, both Thai- and Indian-inspired. And after watching many friends order and enjoy tikka masala — a creamy tomato-based curry — at restaurants, I wanted to create a dairy-free version I could enjoy at home.
This 1-pot tikka masala is simpler than most as it doesn’t require any marinating, obscure ingredients, or fancy methods. Just throw everything in one pot and watch dinner appear before your eyes.
Bitters are used in a number of cocktails. Even if you can’t strongly perceive them while you’re sipping your drink, like salt, lemon zest, and vanilla, bitters are used to balance the flavors in the glass, providing a gentle undernote to bolster or as a contrast to flavors, rather than domineering or taking center stage. When writing Drinking French* I kept in mind that most…
Bitters are used in a number of cocktails. Even if you can’t strongly perceive them while you’re sipping your drink, like salt, lemon zest, and vanilla, bitters are used to balance the flavors in the glass, providing a gentle undernote to bolster or as a contrast to flavors, rather than domineering or taking center stage.
When writing Drinking French* I kept in mind that most people either didn’t have access to a wide variety of bitters, or didn’t want to amass a line-up of little bottles of bitters at home just to make one cocktail. Although sometimes, a certain bitter does make a difference. So a few times, I nudged readers who might want to expand their flavor horizons towards a particular bitter, such as eucalyptus or salted chocolate. But in the overall picture, I like to give choices when writing a recipe in a book, so as many people ca make it as possible.
My fallback bitters are orange and aromatic (Angostura) because I wanted to make sure to use ones that people could easily find. Heck, I’ve even seen Angostura being sold in French supermarkets, as well as at Target stores in the U.S. So there’s really not that much of a barrier to getting your hands on a bottle.
Welcome to flavor town. This comforting soup is a fusion of both Thai and Mexican cuisine (two of our absolute loves), requires ingredients you likely have on hand right now, and is made entirely in 1 pot.
It’s also versatile with options for bo…
Welcome to flavor town. This comforting soup is a fusion of both Thai and Mexican cuisine (two of our absolute loves), requires ingredients you likely have on hand right now, and is made entirely in 1 pot.
It’s also versatile with options for both meat eaters and vegans. And we include plenty of serving options below. Let’s make soup!
It all starts with a base of onion, garlic, ginger, and serrano or jalapeño pepper.
When the weather cools down, we’re in full-on soup mode (and stretchy pants, for that matter).
I’ve always loved Moroccan-inspired dishes. The spices are so comforting and warming.
This Moroccan-inspired soup puts some of my favorite spice…
When the weather cools down, we’re in full-on soup mode (and stretchy pants, for that matter).
I’ve always loved Moroccan-inspired dishes. The spices are so comforting and warming.
This Moroccan-inspired soup puts some of my favorite spices, like cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, to use.
Let us show you how easy this 1-pot soup is.
This recipe begins with lentils, which we recommend soaking.
Have you ever tried mujadara? If not, you’re totally missing out.
What is Mujadara?
Mujadara is a satisfying vegetarian dish with Middle Eastern and Arab influences. It’s traditionally made with rice, lentils, and caramelized onions, makin…
Have you ever tried mujadara? If not, you’re totally missing out.
What is Mujadara?
Mujadara is a satisfying vegetarian dish with Middle Eastern and Arab influences. It’s traditionally made with rice, lentils, and caramelized onions, making it incredibly affordable and satisfying.
The spices can range in simplicity from just salt, pepper, and cumin to more complex flavors like cinnamon, lemon peel, and cayenne pepper.
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