Sunday, February 24, 2008

Hummus





I finally did it! That’s right, I finally took the time to write down my hummus recipe.
This is probably the most requested recipe I get from friends and family. It is so quick and easy that I make it for almost every get-together I host or go to. If you have only eaten hummus that was bought at the grocery store then you have never really experienced how truly delicious hummus can be. I have converted many hummus haters into lovers with this recipe.

Hummus is a dip made by grinding up chickpeas with a few additional ingredients. It is great served with pita bread, crackers, or veggies. I usually have hummus in the refrigerator at all times in case I need a quick healthy snack.

A lot of hummus recipes have olive oil as the only liquid ingredient to thin out the dip. I found that this not only made the dip extremely high in calories, but the olive oil flavor was overwhelming. So, I substitute water or the liquid from the chickpea can for most of the oil. This significantly reduces the total calories and, in my humble opinion, makes for a better tasting hummus.

A food processor is a necessity here. If you don’t have one, I would advocate buying one. They can be rather expensive, but what a time saver. Mine gets used a least 2-3 times a week. With the food processor you can make this dip in less than 5 minutes.

HUMMUS

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup tahini
1 garlic clove
¾ teas. cumin
1/8 cup water
2 tbs. salt
3 tbs. olive oil

1. Place chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cumin, water and salt in food processor.
2. Blend for 30 – 45 seconds.
3. With processor running, stream in olive oil.
4. Let processor blend for another minute.
5. If the dip seems little think, add another tablespoon of water and processes for

15 additional seconds.
6. Enjoy with pita bread, carrots, crackers, or whatever you have on hand.

Notes:
1. Tahini is a sesame seed paste. It can be found in the kosher section of your grocery store. Usually it comes in either a small metal can or a glass screw top container. Glass containers can be stored in the fridge for a long time. Tahini that comes in a metal can needs to be put in a plastic container before being stored in the fridge.
2. Make sure you let the dip blend for awhile in the food processor. Even when you think you have blended long enough, blend for another 30 seconds. This is the only way to ensure a wonderfully luscious creamy dip.
3. You may like more or less lemon juice, cumin, salt, whatever. Play with the recipe and come up with you preferred version.
4. Hummus will keep in the fridge for at least a week. I prefer to eat mine room temperature, my husband likes his cold, straight out of the fridge. Try both and see which way you prefer.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bravo, Erin. That's a gorgeous photograph!

Jen V said...

Hi Erin!

The blog is looking great and thanks for finally sharing the hummus recipe :)

RAH · Mount Airy, MD said...

So, being one of Erin's oldest friends I had her give me this recipe a while back because it is so delicious and I had to have it. Only she kind of gave me a rough outline instead of a true recipe. Erin and I are both always trying to eat healthy and one tip she gave me was when making hummus to reserve the liquid the peas came in. After processing the ingredients to get the right consistency, she told me to use the reserved liquid instead of using olive oil. Now here is a question for Erin, why use water instead of the reserved liquid, and why do you rinse the peas? I am curious to try the recipe "outline" that I have been using right next to the hummus recipe on this blog. Which one would be tastier, and which one would have less calories?