Hummus

August 18th, 2008

Restaurant Style Hummus

I love me some hummus – Its such a great healthy snack with raw vegies or breads (pita, pretzels). I made the following recipe 3 times now, each time it was awesome. The fresh lemon really makes it stand out from store-bought hummus. This last time a put a bit more garlic and red pepper in, i think it was an improvement. Hummus recipe from cooksillustrated.com, picture is mine.

Note on creamy textures – I use a 40 oz blender, since I don’t have a food processor.  I double the recipe, spending extra time blending the chickpeas in the first step, pushing the chickpeas down, blend for 2 secs, repeat. After half the chickpeas are smashed, i add half the lemon water, blend till all chickpeas are smashed, slowly adding rest of water making sure to have a  smooth texture before adding tahini and oil.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons juice from 1 to 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons tahini (Joyva or Krinos), stirred well
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for drizzling
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas (Pastene or Goya), drained and rinsed
1 small garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro or parsley leaves


1. Combine lemon juice and water in small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together tahini and 2 tablespoons oil in second small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside 2 tablespoons chickpeas for garnish.

2. Process remaining chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add oil-tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved chickpeas and cilantro over surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

We recommend Joyva or Krinos tahini and Pastene/Goya chickpeas (see related tastings). The hummus can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 5 days. If you do not plan on serving it immediately, refrigerate the hummus and garnishes separately. When ready to serve, stir in approximately 1 tablespoon of warm water if the texture is too thick.

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