yummus

Hummus, delicious, nutritious and easy to make. Here’s how:

2 1/2 cups small chickpeas
6 heaping tablespoons tahini
6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1-3 cups of cooking water from chickpeas (to desired consistency)

For garnish:
olive oil
whole cooked chickpeas
paprika – sweet or hot

This makes 4-5 servings. For best results, I highly recommend cooking your own chickpeas and using very fresh tahini. Really, the fresher all your ingredients, the better.

Soak dry chickpeas for 24 hours.

Drain chickpeas, rinse and cover with plenty of clean water, so the peas are covered by at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, skim the foam from the top, lower heat and boil very gently for 2-3 hours. Time varies depending on size and variety of chickpeas. Check occasionally. When you can mush a pea easily with your fingers, they’re ready. Drain and save the cooking water.

Blend the chickpeas in a blender or food processor with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and cumin. Add the chickpeas cooking water slowly while blending to the desired consistency. Hummus will thicken quickly as it cools.

Garnish with a generous drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil, a few gently crushed, cooked chickpeas, sweet or hot paprika, and parsley (chopped boiled egg is really good too). Eat immediately. Hummus loses flavor after cooling. Trust me. If you have only had refrigerated hummus from the super market, you have never really had hummus.

Hummus is traditionally eaten with pita bread; scoop it. I prefer to eat it with a more fleshy, textured bread, crusty on the outside, soft like a sponge on the inside, so while scooping, the bread also absorbs some of the oily, beany, garlicy goodness. Open a nice Oregon Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Hummus is a delicious dip for veggies too and great as a sandwich spread.

Try hummus in its native lands! Click to see tours.