Hummus

A creamy dip or spread made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil.  Great with vegetables or pita.

Hummus makes a great snack or accompaniment to just about any meal.  It's smooth, creamy, and so tasty.  I'm disappointed I didn't even know about it until I was in college.  After I tried it for the first time, though, I was hooked.  This stuff is delicious.  It's also simple to make your own and add all kinds of different flavors.  I was making this hummus for a middle eastern type meal so I kept the flavors traditional.

Making hummus is one of the reasons I purchased my food processor.  I tried to make it in a blender once and failed miserably.  It was one of the blenders that tapers toward the bottom and things got stuck.  Maybe some people can make it in a blender but it didn't work for me and took me a while to try again.  This hummus is great with pita, vegetables, or as a main component of my Spiced Lamb and Hummus.  Store bought hummus is easy but once you try homemade there is no comparison.

Hummus

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chickpeas (or about 1 can)
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt

In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the chopping blade, add the chickpeas and pulse until they are broken up and in small pieces.

Add the garlic, tahini, and lemon juice and pulse some more until well mixed (add salt to taste).

Then leave the processor on while adding up to 2 tablespoons of olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Transfer to a seal-able container and refrigerate or serve right away.  I think it tastes better as it sits and the flavors have a chance to meld but sometimes I just can't wait.

To serve drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle on some smoked paprika, and serve with pita and/or vegetables.

Makes about 6 servings.  Enjoy.

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Tutorial: How to Make Tahini

Tahini is a paste made from toasted sesame seeds.  It is used in many Middle Eastern recipes, most importantly for me Hummus, and is simple to make.

I finally bought a food processor a few months ago.  One of my main reasons to get it was to make Hummus.  I still have not used it for that purpose yet, but I use it for many other things.  One other thing that I've needed for Hummus is Tahini.  I bought some sesame seeds months ago and they have been sitting in my pantry waiting to be used.  Today I finally made Tahini, and it's easy.

First heat some sesame seeds in a dry frying pan on low heat.  I used about 1/2 cup.

Stir, and shake until toasted (light brown) and they smell kind of nutty.  This takes patience because you do not want to burn them.

At this point remove them from the heat and remove them from the frying pan, they will still be hot and continue to get darker.  I poured them directly into the blender.

Cover with the lid, remove the center cup and blend, carefully it can get messy, while adding about 1/4 cup of olive oil or until it reaches the desired consistency.  It will smell and look similar to peanut butter but you want it to be easily pourable.  I used a little over 1/4 cup of oil.  Pour into a seal-able container and refrigerate.  It should keep for 3 months.  Now I can make my Hummus and other recipes requiring Tahini.  Yes you can buy Tahini at many grocery stores, but is is easy and inexpensive to make at home.

Enjoy.

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