I made these over the weekend. They made a great afternoon meal.

-= Exported from BigOven =-

Tomato Slices with Chickpea Slather

This No-Cook recipe is just the thing for a lunch when it's hot and
the garden is full of fresh tomatoes. Easy, nutritious, and delicious.

Recipe By: Pete & Peggy Romfh
Serving Size: 16
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Main Ingredient: Tomatoes
Categories: Low Sugar, Diabetic, Low Carb, Summer, No Cook, Simple -
Easy, Vegetables, Salads, Main Dish, Brunch, Appetizers

-= Ingredients =-
15 ounces Chickpeas, canned ; - one can
1/4 cup Tahini ; - sesame seed paste
3 tablespoons Olive oil ; - extra virgin
1 large lemon
3 cloves garlic ; - or more, to taste
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds ; or 3/4 tsp ground
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne ; - to taste
1/4 teaspoon Salt ; - to taste
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper ; - fresh ground
8 large Tomatoes ; - garden fresh

-= Instructions =-
Zest the lemon and chop the zest fine. Squeeze the juice into a cup
and add about 1 tbs of the lemon pulp to it.

Toast the cumin seeds in a hot, dry pan until they are fragrant, cool
slightly then grind to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar/pestle.
Set aside.

Peel and crush the garlic, or mince it finely.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas then place in work bowl of food
processor. Add Tahini end EVOO then pulse 3-4 times to start breaking
up the chickpeas. Add the garlic and pulse again several times. Add
lemon juice then lemon zest and pulse again.

Add the cumin and cayenne. pulse to mix and taste for spiciness. Add
salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice if needed. You should wind up
with a coarse paste rather than something completely smooth.

Allow this mixture to rest and meld the flavors. Taste and adjust
spices as desired. You want a tangy, spicy, nutty flavor without any
one flavor being dominant.

Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Spread about 2 teaspoons of
mixture on each slice. Garnish with parsley, cilantro, or other
vegetable. I used finely cut carrot and broccoli on my version. Olive
slices are also good on this.

Serve chilled on lettuce leaves if desired.

Each (app 6 slices) serving contains an estimated:
Cals: 95, FatCals: 45, TotFat: 5g
SatFat: 1g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 3g
Chol: 0mg, Na: 127mg, K: 227mg
TotCarbs: 11g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 0g
NetCarbs: 9g, Protein: 3g

Adapted from recipe in Parade magazine, Aug, 12, 2007

ADDITIONAL SERVING IDEA: Julienne vegetables such as cucumber, red or
yellow pepper, carrots, broccoli rabe, Wrap them in bib lettuce leaves
with a slather of hummus. Roll up and serve chilled.




** Recipe, with photo, at: www.bigoven.com/recipe163530 **
** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **



------
Pete Romfh, telecom geek and amateur gourmet.
Houston, TX, USA