THENGREDIENTS X 8:
For the pita bread (8 pieces):
500g 00 flour
270ml warm water
3 g brewer’s yeast powder
5ml extra virgin olive oil
5 g sugar
salt.
For the hummus:
300 g pre-cooked chickpeas
50 g tahini sauce
2 lemons
150ml water
1 clove of garlic
extra virgin olive oil
smoked paprika
cumin
parsley
salt.
Chickpea hummus with pita. Recipe by Ruben Bondì, photos by Micol Funaro, taken from “Cucina con Ruben” (Cairo)
Method
Start preparing the dough for the pita bread: pour the warm water into a large bowl, add the yeast and sugar, mix and let the yeast activate for 5 minutes (you will see bubbles forming on the surface).
At this point, add the flour, extra virgin olive oil and salt and knead everything on a pastry board for about 5 minutes or until you get a smooth dough. Transfer the dough back to a clean bowl, cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap and let it rest for about an hour in a warm place: must double in volume.
Meanwhile, make the hummus: drain the chickpeas from their conservation liquid, rinse them well under running water and transfer them to the blender jug. Add the water, the tahini sauce, the grated zest of one of the lemons, and the juice from both.
Also combine a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic and a pinch of cumin. Blend everything until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream. Season with salt and, if needed, add a little more water.
Pick up the pita dough and transfer it to the floured surface. Divide the mass into about 8 equal pieces which you will give the shape of as many balls. Cover them with a clean tea towel and let them rest for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 250°C by inserting a baking tray inside.
Roll out the dough balls with a rolling pin, obtaining discs of about 15 cm in diameter. Arrange the pita discs on the hot pan and cook them for 4-5 minutes: they should puff up and brown slightly. Once ready, store the pita in a basket covered with a kitchen towel until you’ve cooked it all, so it doesn’t dry out.
Arrange the hummus on a plate and garnish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of chopped parsley and smoked paprika. Serve it with warm pita bread.
“Cooking with Ruben” by Ruben Bondì (Cairo, in bookstores from 14 February).
Fusion tradition
Ruben Bondì is a young chef much loved on social media, he has traveled (working) the planet and is an expert in kosher cuisine. Roman of Jewish descent, in Cook with Ruben (Cairo, in bookstores from February 14) brings together family tradition and great curiosity for the cuisine of the Eastern hemisphere. The result is a lively, intelligent book. With the rare advantage of simplifying everything.
The poster of the “Pitti Taste 2023”, in Florence from 4 to 6 February
The decorative idea
Pictorial touches of red paprika, green parsley, yellow extra virgin olive oil. Here the décor is on the plate, it makes the chickpea hummus “modern” and looks like pop art. Like the poster of Pitti Taste 16the colorful Pitti Immagine salon dedicated to the excellence of Italian food and the evolution of the “kitchen lifestyle”: from Saturday 4 February to Monday 6 it will enliven Florence, at the Stazione Leopolda, well worth a visit.
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