Sunday, July 15, 2012

Hummus Soup!

I have eaten many things Arab.

Since arriving in Amman, every meal I've eaten has actually been local cuisine. My mouth has had no doubt enjoyed the meal decisions. Other ends of me have sometimes been less agreeable with my new appetite. I think it may have to do with where I eat and not necessarily what I am putting in my mouth. I do have to warn you however, Montezuma's Revenge is not locally owned and operated in Central and South America - it is a worldwide distributor of fun and excitement if you enjoy drinking tap water. Although not environmentally friendly, bottled water is your safest bet when adventuring abroad.

This food entry will be dedicated entirely to the amazing creation personally known as Hummus Soup. If you are a facebook friend, you already know a little about this amazing culinary invention. Here is the rest of the story:

Hummus is delicious. Hummus soup is out of this world. While hummus alone is a nice snack and can be eaten as a light meal if you use a little Arab bread. (There are many forms of this flattened pita like creation, however no matter which form I'm eating I'm always told simply that it is Arab bread) A bowl of hummus soup on the other hand is at least two sit-downs. The caloric content alone has to be in the range of three whole meals. I attribute at least 8 of my 10 gained pound to humus soup alone and I have consumed only 1.5 bowls since arriving in Amman. (As of this publication - 3.5)

Cooking chick peas and falafel stages.
Like Krispy Kreme Donuts, I will continue to eat my humus soup despite it's negative affects on my overall health and well being.

So... what is humus soup you ask? Officially, it's known as Feted Hummus. Feted - meaning stuffed with bread. Not stuffing mind you. Simply something that has been injected with bread. Hummus - meaning delicious paste, reminiscent of childhood Elmer's paste, made from mashed chick-peas, olive oil and sometimes garlic.

When I was first told of this magnificent creation I figured the concoction would be thicker than humus. Generally when you add bread to something, the bread soaks up the moisture and you have a wet soppy mess on your hands. Somehow though, these ingenious Arabs add bread to humus, heat it up, and it becomes thinner and more soup-like. Ok, yes, obviously they add some miracle liquid when I'm not looking to thin this out but admitting that just takes the fun out of the whole thing for me and if I knew the entire recipe I would be enticed to make it myself. I very much enjoy going to the small shop and taking in the full moment of the meal. Please, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times and finish this ride with me without more interruptions.

Roll dough, flip onto pad, transfer dough to black burner
More about the full effect of the meal! My favorite shop to find hummus soup is just around the corner from the studio. You'll notice that most of my favorite eateries are "just around the corner because I have found them and they are within walking distance. Any farther than walking distance and I may keel over from the heat. I'd rather not die simply because I was trying to feed my pie hole. Anywho...

The place has one guy who tends to the hummus, hummus soup, sandwiches, and falafel making. A second guy is in charge of rolling out thin discs of dough, usually on demand, to keep up with the supply of flat bread for sandwiches, hummus dipping, or my favorite - the edible hummus soup spoon. There is a third man. His job is slightly more ambiguous but my best guess is that his job is to continually harass me about not speaking enough Arabic while at the same time, ensuring that the other two guys are extremely polite to me despite my Arabic inadequacies.
Finished deliciousness

They run a very systematic shop - I give it five stars. I'm not yet sure how my rating system will work but let's just say if you came to visit me, I'd take you there to eat.

Until then...



Post Script - When I first wrote this, I had in fact not eaten anything non-local. My boss however ruined my plans for not eating American fast-food when he told me he wanted to take me to a favorite eatery of his and we ended up at Popeye's Chicken. 

3 comments:

  1. Alright, just have to say this because I am a super dork, but your first photo (the one entitled 'Cooking chick peas and falafel stages') is a fantastically well composed photograph... Seriously between the lighting, the focal range, and color, when I made it bigger and I was like "Woooooow that is a GORGEOUS photograph!" Ha!

    But this all sounds so delicious. I'll have to try some in November!

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  2. sounds amazing!! i love anything with chick peas. yum! i miss that flatbread like crazy. that was, hands-down, the best part of iraq! :)

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  3. ii come back to your description of hummus time and time again as it is one of my favorite things to eat. You didn't mention one important ingredient, tahini, whiich is made from ground up sesame seeds. My recipe is: Throw a can of (drained) chick peas into the blender, add Tahini by tablesppoonfuls until you like the taste and consistency, alternating with lemon juice. We like LOTS of garlic which I press fresh (none of that powdered garlic please) Then I indulge in a packet of scoops or taco chips and dig deep into the hummus . MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

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