Savory Hummus Hors D'oeuvres

This is a nice recipe my cooking classmate Nicole and I created with the help of Chef Hideki Kawai for our graduation from healing cooking school. It was a big hit and everyone loved the simple but flavorful hummus. Enjoy!

Hummus with Tiny Toast and Endives Hors D'oeuvres

2 cups chickpeas
1 stamp sized pieces of kombu
Fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
Tablespoon ume vinegar
1 finely grated raw yellow onion
Garlic powder or fresh garlic

15 leaves endives
15 triangle sliced pieces of whole wheat sourdough bread
Olive oil
Ume vinegar
Salt
2 red peppers
1/2 bunch parley, finely chopped

Hummus:
1. Pressure cook the chickpeas with the kombu for about an hour (fill water to 1/2 inch above beans in the pressure cooker).
2. Let pressure come down and put in the olive oil and ume vinegar. Simmer beans for 10 minutes and then let them sit to cool off.
3. Grate raw onion and juice the lemon.
4. When chickpeas have cooled, put them into a food processor with a small amount of the cooking liquid and add the onion and some lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
5. Taste the mixture and add more lemon juice or ume vinegar if needed and sprinkle in garlic powder or chopped raw garlic.
6. Blend again thoroughly. Taste again and adjust flavor to your taste.
7. Chill in refrigerator.

Toast:
1. Slice each slice of bread diagonally across twice, creating 4 triangle pieces.
2. Heat up a cast iron skillet.
3. Dip each slice of bread lightly on both sides in a plate of olive oil.
4. Place in skillet.
5. Once one side gets browned and a bit crunchy, flip and brown other side.

Endives:
1. Wash each endive leaf and dry.

Red Peppers:
1. Wash and thinly slice red pepper into pieces about 1 inch long.
2. Put some olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.
3. Sautee peppers with some salt.
4. Turn to medium low heat.
5. After they have cooked for a while (about 10-15 minutes), add ume vinegar to give a nice flavor.
6. Taste to make sure you like it.

Assemble:
1. Put endives or toasts on a plate.
2. Put chilled hummus in a pastry bag and squeeze hummus on toast or endive.
3. Top with red peppers.
4. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top.