Recipes and News from The Golden Harvest

Today’s Recipe:

Fattet Hummus

“There are no more rebels anywhere; the olive branch of peace has been extended everywhere.”

— Shakespeare's Henry IV

Chicago is where The Golden Harvest’s director was born. It is also where the world's longest running Palestinian film festival was born. Like most festivals, this year the Chicago Palestine Film Festival is online (and at the drive-in), but it is normally held at Gene Siskel Film Center. Tickets here: http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/cpff2020T oday’s recipe comes from Dana Alqadi, who has been working with procurement team for the festival since 2013. It’s a volunteer position and her day job is working as a senior engineering consultant on a number of smart energy efforts, including community resilience and vehicle electrification.

Dana grew up in a small town in Virginia, but spent most of her childhood summers in Nablus, Palestine visiting her extended family. “The familial warmth and vibrant city were the backdrop to some of the best moments of my life and inspired a lifelong connection to Palestinian culture,” she says. “I received my B.S and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where my research focused on safe drinking water treatment, including a project focused on water quality in Gaza.” She also has a PhD from George Washington University in Engineering Management.

“To maintain a broad-based and engaged audience, we promote a range of films throughout the festival and value partnering with local groups and organizations,” Dana explains. “We are grateful to our supporters, audience, sponsors, and filmmakers for enabling us to provide a festival that every year surpasses our expectations and rises above any challenges.”

Fattet Hummus comes from the word fatteh" meaning "crushed or crumbs" in Arabic and refers to a number of Middle Eastern dishes that include bread crumbs in them. It’s a bit like upscale hummus. “This dish is a common breakfast dish that is not only filling and tasty but full of plant-based protein, fiber, and a low glycemic index to control blood sugar levels throughout the day,” Dana says. We like how with this recipe even an engineer doesn’t feel the need to be precise with the proportions. We personally like less garlic (two cloves max), so a lot of this recipe is about following your gut and its tastes buds.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of cooked chickpeas

½ cup plain yogurt

1 cup tahini

½ tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

4 to 5 garlic cloves

6 circles of pita bread (any type is fine, but thinner is better)

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Olive oil for drizzling (Dana prefers ghee)

Parsley

Slivered almonds

PREPARATION

1. Warm up the cooked chickpeas in about three cups of water and boil with a tsp of cumin.

2. As chickpeas are warming up, take a knife or kitchen scissors and cut pita bread into small squares and lay flat on serving dish.

3. Mix 2 cups of water from the cooking chickpeas, olive oil, 1 clove of minced garlic, salt, and one tablespoon of the lemon juice. Pour mixture slowly and evenly over the bread pieces. (You can toast or fry the bread before placing in serving tray, that is simply personal preference).

4. Spread ½ cup of chickpeas over the bread.

5. Place remaining chickpeas in a blender with ½ c water from the cooked chickpeas, tahini sauce, yogurt, the remaining lemon juice, and 3-4 cloves of garlic and salt to taste. Blend until smooth.

6. Add 1/2 cup of ice into the mixture and blend again (the ice gives it a nice color).

7. Taste and add in any additional spices, yogurt, lemon, or garlic as you see fit.

8. Pour the yogurt over the bread and chickpeas.

9. Garnish as you--fried slivered almonds, fresh chopped parsley, paprika, and remaining garbanzo beans are always popular additions. Drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy warm—but it’s even good cold!

UPDATES ON THE GOLDEN HARVEST

This is a really busy week for The Golden Harvest. It’s playing in three festivals, including the above mentioned Chicago Palestine Film Festival. On Oct. 18, it has its Canadian premier at the Toronto Food Film Festival. That will be preceded by a Q & A with director Alia Yunis, all online. For anyone in the Ontario area, we hope you can join us.

Next up is the Boston Palestine Film Festival from October 16-25 in cooperation with Boston Fine Arts Museum. More details coming.

Other Olive News:

An olive tree blooms in London. The editor of The Golden Harvest, Jaime Estrada-Torres, and his wife Shaun have a magical garden in their backyard. They have been caring for this tree for years waiting for it to bloom, despite people saying it can’t happen in this cold, damp city. But it has bloomed this year! Next step is pickling the olives. We will let you know how that goes.