Spreads are simple to make at home.
Whether you're looking to jazz up your brown bag sandwiches for lunch or are in search of a crowd-pleasing, easy appetizer, bread spreads offer flavors and variations to suit a variety of palates. From sweet to savory, spreads add a new dimension of flavor to a plain sandwich or assortment of cheese, crackers, and bread slices or pita wedges. You can find a bread spread recipe to suit your needs, your culinary skills and the contents of your pantry.
Instructions
1. Make jam. For a basic strawberry jam recipe, cook 3 pints of strawberries in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until the berries reach a thick, jam-like consistency. This will take about 3 hours. Add 1/2 cup sugar cubes and stir to dissolve. When jam is ready, transfer to jam jars, place lids on jars, let cool and refrigerate.
2. Make an olive tapenade for a salty alternative to spread on your bread. Rinse 2 cups of Kalamata or black olives in a colander. Pit the olives by pressing on them with the flat side of a knife and removing the pits when they emerge. Pulse the pitted olives with 1/4 cup olive oil in a food processor until mixture is coarse. Stir in the parsley and chill tapenade in the refrigerator.
3. Make a creamy cheese spread. Mix 1 clove of minced garlic and 2 tbsp. of minced green onion. Soften 8 oz. of cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer in a small bowl until fluffy. Add 3 tbsp. of grated Parmesan cheese, the minced onion and garlic, and 1/4 tsp. of black pepper. Beat the mixture until well blended, then refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
4. Make your own hummus. In a food processor, combine 2 cups of canned chickpeas, 1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tbsp. cumin or paprika, chopped fresh parsley leaves and the juice of one lemon. Pulse all ingredients in the food processor until well-combined. If more liquid seems necessary, add reserved liquid from the cans of chickpeas, or plain water, to reach the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings, then refrigerate.
Tags: food processor, food processor until, processor until, refrigerate Make, then refrigerate
