I like soft food just fine. A hot bowl of cream of wheat? Wonderful! A tasty fresh fruit smoothie? Refreshing! Soft scrambled eggs with avocado and melty cheese? Delicious! But the thought of limiting myself to only these foods for even a few days feels like an identity crisis. Who will I be if I'm not chowing down of a crusty piece of bread every few hours? If I can't make chillaquilles for another 6-8 weeks?! If I can't enjoy a bag of crunchy salty potato chips with my sandwich?!?
Before my surgery, my boss (just as much of a food lover as I), told me that dietary restrictions can sometimes be a good thing because they force you to get creative. And after only two days of soft, mostly liquid foods, I already see what she meant. Yesterday afternoon I made about a quart of hummus from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty (Hummus with ful p. 210), but did not yet feel confidant in my ability to eat it with pita (even the softest breads take a surprising amount of molar chewing, as I learned from the tortilla I had tried and failed to eat earlier in the day).
But the thought of just eating hummus with a spoon for dinner was pretty distressing. The phrase "Hum and Eggs" kept bouncing around in my head as I tried to think of ways to dress up my hummus. I think "Hum and Eggs" was the name of a dish served at The Bagelry in Santa Cruz...a bagel with hummus on one half and egg salad on the other. I've also enjoyed hummus and eggs together in the inimitable Sabich, an amazing combination of fried eggplant, boiled eggs and potatoes, hummus, mint, and cucumber-tomato salad all stuffed in a pita. So I though, what the hell, I could just put an egg on my hummus and call it dinner.
I dolloped a few spoonfuls of hummus into a bowl and sprinkled on a bit of cayenne and za'atar over it, adding a little drizzle of olive oil on top. I decided to poached would be a good way to go for the egg. I placed the poached egg on the hummus and sprinkled a bit more cayenne and za'atar over the top, along with some salt and pepper, before digging in with a spoon. The result was surprisingly satisfying, even without any crunchy bits to break up the softness of both hummus and egg. The hummus was still warm underneath the warm egg, enhancing the flavor of the spices, and the garlic and lemon in the hummus added a nice complexity to the flavor. And the best part was that I felt like I'd eaten a real meal!
After eating I promptly passed out like a happy animal, the best sign of a good dinner I can think of.
Wisdom Tooth Hum and Eggs
Any store-bought hummus will work fine for this recipe, but making hummus at home is fun, easy, and gratifying.
For the Hummus (adapted from Plenty):
makes about a quart
1 1/4 cup dried chickpeas
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup tahini
juice of 1 to 1 1/2 lemons (more or less to taste)
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
salt
For the final dish:
1 egg
1 teaspoon white vinegar
cayenne pepper or paprika
za'atar
olive oil
salt
pepper
To make the hummus, place chickpeas and 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda in a medium pot. Cover with double the volume of cold water and stir to combine. Bring the pot to a boil, then remove from heat. Let soak for 3-4 hours.
Drain the chickpeas, then return to the pot and cover with double the volume of cold water. Add the remaining baking soda (1/4 teaspoon) and stir to combine. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently until the chickpeas are very soft and easy to mash with a fork. The amount of time will depend on the freshness of the chickpeas, but can take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Add more water to the pot if necessary to keep the chickpeas submerged.
Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Transfer the chickpeas to a food processor while they are still warm. Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process the mixture for a minute or two until it is totally smooth, then add a little of the cooking liquid (I started with 1/4 cup) and pulse again until you have a very soft, almost runny mixture (it will firm up as it cools). Taste and add more salt (I ended up adding another 1/2 teaspoon), lemon juice, and or garlic to taste.
Scoop a portion of hummus into a bowl (I used about 1/3 cup). Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne and a generous pinch (1/4 teaspoon) za'atar. Finish with a little drizzle of olive oil (1/2 to 1 teaspoon).
To poach the egg, carefully fill a nonstick pan with cold water and the 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Heat the water on medium heat until it just simmers. Crack an egg in a small bowl and carefully pour the egg from the bowl into the pan. Cover and reduce the heat if necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Poach for 3-5 minutes, remove from water with a slotted spoon and place on the hummus. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and more za'atar.
Eat immediately while everything is warm, creamy, and aromatic.
