Hummus and Goat Cheese Salad from Gordon Biersch in Atlanta

When my sister and I went to Atlanta on May 19th to see Jessica Merchant on her book tour for The Pretty Dish, we stayed in a hotel that was in walking distance of Gordon Biersch.  It is a great restaurant and brewery located in Buckhead, not far from the Lenox Mall.  All of our meals were great, but we both especially loved the Hummus and Goat Cheese Salad. 

Hummus and Goat Cheese Salad from Gordon Biersch Buckhead

When I returned home, I recreated this salad.  The menu description said the salad contained housemade hummus, spring greens, roasted red peppers, Roma tomatoes, Parmesan, Asiago & goat cheese, Marzen beer balsamic vinaigrette, and fresh made flatbread.  I added the grilled chicken to the salad to make it a meal.  Of course, this salad was not 100% on the Candida diet.  When recreating it, everything followed a yeast free diet, except the goat cheese.  I also made my own hummus, and I made a yeast free bread. 

Hummus and Goat Cheese Salad--Serves 1

Salad Ingredients and Directions:

• 2 cups spring greens
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped assorted cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese (You can leave this out, but I do eat goat cheese.)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Note:  I did not add Parmesan or Asiago cheese to my salad.  Goat cheese is normally the only cheese I will eat on the Candida diet.  I did not add grilled chicken to this salad.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined.

Hummus
 
I found this hummus recipe at Inspired Taste  It is a delicious recipe and very easy to make.  The link also has a great video to follow.  By the way, Jessica Merchant's blog How Sweet Eats just featured a hummus platter with three types of hummus, a couscous salad, and a tzatziki recipe.  Just click the link for those recipes.


Hummus Recipe from Inspired Taste:

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
• 1/4 cup tahini (I used store bought.  Inspired Taste has a recipe for a homemade tahini here.  Homemade Tahini)
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons water
• Dash of paprika, for serving

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more.  This extra time helps "whip" or "cream" the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice.  Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended.

Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas.  Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute.  Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.

Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpeas.  To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.

Taste for salt and adjust as needed.  Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika.  Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.

Homemade Hummus!

Weight Watchers Gluten Free Bagel

Instead of making a traditional flatbread, I made Weight Watchers Gluten Free Bagels.  They are awesome!  On future blogs I'm going to make a pizza using the gluten free dough and a flatbread using the recipe.  There are many places you can find this recipe, but I used the one found at Gluten Free on a Shoestring.  Click the link to see the entire post.

Weight Watchers Gluten Free Bagel Recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring--Makes 6 bagels

• 1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour), plus about 1 tablespoon or more for sprinkling.  The author recommends other types of flours that you can check out using the above link.)
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (Omit if your blend already contains it; I was able to omit it.)
•  2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup nonfat Greek-style plain yogurt, straight from the refrigerator
• 1 egg white, chilled
• Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, beaten; optional)
• Toppings (optional) such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds or Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe's (I used Everything But the Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joe's)  Note:  The Pretty Dish has a recipe for Everything Seasoning on page 33.  

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine.  Add the yogurt and mix until combined. Depending upon the moisture content in your yogurt, the dough may still not hold together fully.  If necessary to bring the dough together, add the egg white (or a bit more yogurt) by the teaspoonful. Mix to combine until the dough holds together well.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it's a bit smoother.  Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and roll each into a ball between your palms and/or by rolling on the lightly floured surface.  Add a bit more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.  Press each round of dough into a disk about 1/2-inch tall, and create a hold in the center (about 1-inch).  Reshape the dough around the hole if necessary.  Place the pieces of dough about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.  Brush generously with the optional egg wash and top with the optional toppings.

Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the bagels are puffed and golden brown all over, about 22 minutes.  Allow to cool briefly on the baking sheet before slicing and serving.  Leftovers can be sliced and stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 days.  To maintain moisture, add a moistened paper towel to the bag or seal in a freezer-safe container for longer storage.

Weight Watchers Gluten Free Bagels

Finishing the salad

Add the hummus on the top of the salad mixture.  Place the bagels on the side of the salad.  I used the hummus as the dressing.  However, you can add olive oil to your salad if you need something extra.  By the way, the Marzen beer balsamic vinaigrette from Gordon Biersch in Atlanta was excellent!

Finished Hummus and Goat Cheese Salad Remake!

In this blog you received many new recipes.  You received a salad, homemade hummus, and bagels.  The best part is that everything is on the yeast free eating plan and tastes great.  I hope you will enjoy making these recipes!