A Little Bite of the Mediterranean

A Little Bite of the Mediterranean

Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups lightly packed grated parmesan cheese
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
• 3 garlic cloves, and
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 ounces lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, and
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 red bell pepper
• 4 ounces plain yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/16 teaspoon cayenne (a dash)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

• 1 The night before, take a coffee filter and put it into the opening of a fairly narrow glass. Secure the coffee filter by putting a rubber band over the lip of the glass. Put the yogurt into the secured coffee filter; put a piece of plastic wrap over the top and place in the refrigerator overnight (this is to drain off the excess fluid.).
• 2 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 3 Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 4 Use 2 heaping tablespoons of parmesan cheese to create a round of about 3 1/2 inches in diameter on your parchment paper (can use the outer ring of the lid of a Mason jar as a guide.) Make the circle slightly mounded (a little more in the center of the round.) Make ten.
• 5 Place in the preheated oven for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• 6 Let the melted cheese rounds cool for about 2-3 minutes. They should have cooled off enough for you to pick them up with your fingers, but not so cool that they are not pliable.
• 7 Slip the edge of a spatula under the edge of the round and gently ease it off of the parchment paper.
• 8 Take the round and mold it over the back of a mini muffin tin (make sure you are doing this on the back of the muffin tin.) Be gentle. Do this with the rest of the rounds.
• 9 While your rounds take shape, turn the oven to broil. Try to have your oven rack 3 inches from the top of the heating element.
• 10 Line a baking sheet with foil ( can use the one you melted your cheese on.).
• 11 Halve, core and seed the pepper.
• 12 Flatten each half with your hand.
• 13 Put the pepper skin side up on your baking sheet and put under the preheated broiler. Broil until the skin is charred black.
• 14 Put the charred pepper into a gallon size zip top bag and set off to the side for about 15 minutes.
• 15 Now make your hummus.
• 16 Drain the can of chickpeas.
• 17 Dump them into a food processor.
• 18 Drop in 3 cloves of garlic.
• 19 Spoon in 1/4 cup tahini.
• 20 Pour in the lemon juice.
• 21 Measure in 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• 22 Process until smooth.
• 23 Set the hummus to the side (clean out the food processor, your going to need it again.).
• 24 If it has been 15 minutes, take the bell pepper out of the bag and peel the skin off (throw away the skin.).
• 25 Put the red bell pepper into the food processor.
• 26 Put in 1 clove of garlic.
• 27 Measure in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cumin and dash of cayenne.
• 28 Dump in the drained yogurt.
• 29 Process until smooth.
• 30 The parmesan cups should be cooled and formed by now.
• 31 Gently wiggle the cups off the back of the muffin tin.
• 32 Place 1 teaspoon of the crumbled feta into the bottom of each cup.
• 33 Put 1 tablespoon of the hummus on top of the cheese.
• 34 Place 1 teaspoon of roasted red pepper sauce on top of the hummus.
• 35 Sprinkle with chopped parsley.