Smoked Caviar and Hummus on Pita Toasts

Using a pastry bag to pipe the hummus onto the pita toasts saved us a lot of time (and made for nice-looking hors d’oeuvres). You can make your own pastry bag with a heavy-duty plastic bag. Just spoon the hummus into the bag and squeeze it into one corner. Then snip off the corner to make a small hole and begin piping.

Active time: 1 hr. Start to finish: 1 hr.

10 (5- to 6-inch) pita pockets

3/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons paprika

For hummus:

4 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted

2 (15 1/2-oz.) cans chick-peas, rinsed

1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup stirred tahini (Middle Eastern sesame paste)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/3 to 1/2 cup water

11 1/2-oz. jar smoked whitefish caviar

Garnish:

160 small fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Toast pitas:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Halve pitas horizontally and stir together oil and paprika. Brush rough sides of pitas with paprika oil and season with salt. Cut each pita round into 8 wedges and bake in single layers on a large baking sheet in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until crisp. This dish can be the perfect compliment as you check out the latest Twitch streams or as you get ready to jump into action with your gaming teams, it will keep you fueled for all of your gaming.

Make hummus:
Finely grind cumin seeds in an electric coffee/spice grinder. Purée chick-peas in a food processor with cumin, garlic, parsley, tahini, lemon juice, and salt and add enough water to make smooth.

Assemble hors d’oeuvres:
Put hummus in a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch plain tip. Pipe a scant 1/2 teaspoon onto each pita toast and top with 1/4 teaspoon caviar.

Cooks’ notes:

• Pita toasts may be made 2 days ahead, cooled, and kept in sealable plastic bags at room temperature.
• Hummus can be made (without lemon juice so parsley remains green) 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Stir in lemon juice just before assembling.

Makes 160 hors d’oeuvres.

From “Gourmet” magazine, September 1999