Hummus

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For this recipe you will need:

1/2 to 3/4 cup Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas), dried
7 Tbsp. Olive Oil
6 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled
1 tsp. Sesame Oil
Salt to taste
**Optional: 1/4 c. Plain Greek Yogurt


I want to start by saying Hummus usually has Tahini in it, which is a paste usually made from sesame seeds & olive oil.  It can be found in most of your local grocery stores, I usually forget to buy it.  I do, however, usually have a bottle of Sesame Oil in my fridge & find it can be a nice substitute when combined with the olive oil.  Feel free to make hummus both ways & make up your mind as to how you like it.  I do recommend keeping Sesame Oil in the fridge after it's open so it doesn't go bad as fast.  You will notice that it does get a little cloudy when cold, that's perfectly normal.  As it comes back to room temperature the cloud will disappear.  If you decide to leave it at room temperature, just be aware that it will probably oxidize in about a month or so.

You may also have noticed that I use dried chickpeas in my recipe.  I just find that they have a better flavor and add a nuttiness to the finished product.   I also like to use the cooking liquid in the hummus to help reduce the amount of fat/oil I'm adding.  You probably could used canned beans (drained & rinsed) and vegetable broth, but you'd have to play around with the amounts/ingredients a bit.

Start by putting your beans in a pan and adding water to cover the beans by a couple inches.  Throw in a pinch of salt.  Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to medium (to simmer the beans, you still want a couple of bubbles rising to the surface) for an hour to 90 minutes.  Go ahead & taste one of the beans to make sure they are done, but blow on it first, so you don't burn your mouth!  You don't want them to be mushy, you want them to have some bite/texture to them, but you don't want them hard either.  Basically the texture is like a soft peanut.

Here are what my beans looked like in the pan:

Pour around 1 cup of the cooking liquid off the top of the beans, and set aside.  Drain the beans the rest of the way.  Place beans into a food processor.  Add garlic, 4 Tbsp. of the lemon juice, the sesame oil, 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and 4 Tbsp. of the olive oil.  Pulse and then run the machine until a smooth paste is formed.  you will probably need to scrape down the bowl at least one time.  Now taste what you have.  Adjust as needed.  Add more lemon juice if it needs to be a little more tart, add more salt if you need it.  If you want more creaminess, add more olive oil & some more of the cooking liquid.  **Here is where you can also add that little bit of greek yogurt.  It will provide an extra creaminess to the texture without adding more fat.

If you want more garlic, go ahead & add more!  Pulse again and taste.  It should be close.  Adjust seasonings again if you need to, otherwise, go ahead & put it into a serving dish and enjoy!  I have heard about people adding kalamata olives or roasted red peppers to their hummus.  I haven't tried it, but it you want to add them, give it a try.  Just remember to adjust your salt down if you're using olives.  You can also add a dash of cumin & ground red pepper as well.

Here is what mine looked like in the food processor:  

Since I used my small food processor, it did take a couple of batches to do the amount of beans I had.

 And here is what my finished Hummus looked like:

I like to eat my hummus with Pita Chips & carrots.  I know others that like colored peppers, celery, or pretzels.  You can also use it as a spread on sandwiches.  Let me know what you think if you try this recipe out!