Hummus
Recipe by: Susan Voisin
Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip or spread. There are lots of recipes for it, each with a different proportion of ingredients. Over the years I’ve worked on mine to make it much lower in fat than the original version. If you want to make it truly fat-free, omit the tahini and increase the seasonings. You may also add one of the optional ingredients noted at the end of the recipe.
1-2 cloves garlic
1 can (or 1 1/2 cups) cooked chickpeas, drained
1/8 cup lemon juice
cooking liquid from beans (or water)
1 tbsp. tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
dash cayenne
a few sprigs fresh parsley
sumac (optional)
Chop the garlic in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and lemon juice and begin processing. If needed, add 1/4 cup bean cooking liquid or water, just enough so that the chickpeas become a smooth paste. Continue processing as you add the remaining ingredients. Put into a dish, sprinkle with extra paprika (or for a more authentic taste use powdered sumac), garnish with parsley, and serve. Or, for best flavor, allow the flavors to mingle for a while before serving.
Now, I usually make about triple this amount, so this is just a guideline. You can add more spices as desired. I also have a lot of variations on this recipe that I use: black olive hummus, green olive hummus, hickory smoke hummus (add liquid smoke flavor), roasted red pepper hummus, and broccoli hummus (a great way of getting greens into kids).
You can serve this as a dip for pita bread, as a sandwich filling (my daughter lives on it), or as a topping for a salad (my preferred way to eat it these days). It should last several days to a week in the refrigerator (mine has never lasted that long–it’s gone by the third day!).
More great hummus recipes:
Spicy Red Pepper Hummus
Almost-Instant Hummus Ghanoush
Shiny Happy Hummus
Chipotle Chickpea Dip
July 17th, 2018 at 8:57 pm
Smooth or not smooth. Doesn’t matter. I omit the tahini. I pressure cook dried beans with a little garlic onion and curry powder. There are little chunky bits because I use a hand blender and it is delicious. 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice seems Ok. A shake or two of red cayenne pepper gives it a kick. Love it