Hummus

[powerplantop]

Soak 1 cup of small chick peas and 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda in water overnight.

Rinse off and soak in clean water for 2 or more hours and drain.

Add chick peas and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to pot and cook on high heat until the peas are dry. Then cook two minutes more.

Add 6 or 7 cups of water to pot and bring to a slow boil. Skim off any foam as they cook. Cook until tender and drain.

While they are cooking mix:
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic

Add chick peas to blender and blend until smooth. Then add tanhi, lemon juice, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon cumin. Place into refrigerator.

When ready to serve use ice water (if needed) to dilute to desired consistency.

Top with a good quality olive oil, olives and chopped flat leaf parsley.


Hummus by powerplantop, on Flickr

 

[pacanis]

I've never had hummus, nor knew what it looked like.
What ethnicity is it? Is it used like a cold spread or dip/sauce? Do people eat it with crackers, too?
Educate me. I just might give it a go based on your picture of it.

 

[powerplantop]

I've never had hummus, nor knew what it looked like.
What ethnicity is it? Is it used like a cold spread or dip/sauce? Do people eat it with crackers, too?
Educate me. I just might give it a go based on your picture of it.

Hummus is Middle Eastern / Arabic exactly where is came from and who can claim it is cause of meany heated discussions.

It is eaten as a dip for breads, crackers and vegetables. It is also used as a sauce. Normally served cold.

It is a very healthy food.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks. It seems like it would be pretty good.
So chick peas... those are garbanzo or chi chi beans, right? They come in a can?

 

[Gravy Queen]

Thats how I do my hummous, with tahini and lemon , but I used canned chick peas and reserve a little of the water to loosen it up a bit. Its a cracking dip, great with warm pitta bread and or crudites.

 

[powerplantop]

Thanks. It seems like it would be pretty good.
So chick peas... those are garbanzo or chi chi beans, right? They come in a can?

To me the canned ones have a bit of a grainy texture.

 

[GotGarlic]

I love hummus! Love your presentation, PPO! I like to add a bit of cayenne and ground coriander to mine. Gives it a bit of a kick. Sometimes I add 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, too. And I'm lazy - I use canned chickpeas.

 

[Dawgluver]

That's such a nice presentation, PPO!

I'd wondered if you meant dried garbanzos in your recipe too. Apparently so!

 

[pacanis]

I didn't know they came dried, but like I said before, I don't spend a lot of time in the dry bean aisle.
I love the canned ones. I'll have to see how they compare before I turn one of them into hummus.

 

[taxlady]

I use the canned ones, because I don't like having the skins in the hummus, and they are a bugger to remove from the home cooked chickpeas.

 

[powerplantop]

I love hummus! Love your presentation, PPO! I like to add a bit of cayenne and ground coriander to mine. Gives it a bit of a kick. Sometimes I add 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, too. And I'm lazy - I use canned chickpeas.

Thank you. Hummus can be good on its own or you can add lots of other flavors. That is one of the things I like about it.

That's such a nice presentation, PPO!

I'd wondered if you meant dried garbanzos in your recipe too. Apparently so!

Chick peas and garbanzos are the same. I do prefer the smaller ones. But I do use the larger ones when I can not find the small ones.

I didn't know they came dried, but like I said before, I don't spend a lot of time in the dry bean aisle.
I love the canned ones. I'll have to see how they compare before I turn one of them into hummus.

The canned beans are a good place to start making your own. A lot less time than cooking your own beans.

 

[powerplantop]

I use the canned ones, because I don't like having the skins in the hummus, and they are a bugger to remove from the home cooked chickpeas.

That is one of the things I like about using this method. I do not remove the skins and it comes out with a nice texture.

 

[Dawgluver]

Chick peas and garbanzos are the same. I do prefer the smaller ones. But I do use the larger ones when I can not find the small ones.

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I know they're the same thing, but had just wondered if you had meant dried, not canned.

Once, DH and I went to the store and I asked him to pick up a couple cans of chickpeas, he swore they did not have chickpeas, only garbanzos. Then I turned the can around, the other side said Chickpeas!

 

[powerplantop]

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I know they're the same thing, but had just wondered if you had meant dried, not canned.

Once, DH and I went to the store and I asked him to pick up a couple cans of chickpeas, he swore they did not have chickpeas, only garbanzos. Then I turned the can around, the other side said Chickpeas!

That is funny.

I am a dried bean kind of guy when possible. The canned ones are not bad just that I do not like the texture.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Nice photos PPO! Were you a Food Stylist in a prior life? BTW, the hummus looks yummy too. I've never made it even though our son keeps saying "but it's so EASY Mom!". One of these days I'll have to shock him - and then post a photo on Facebook so he knows I didn't lie.

I like my store-bought one with kalamata olives. Or I'll jazz up the plain one with a bit of lemon zest. Heck, it's ALL good!

 

[Andy M.]

I've never gone to the effort of using dry chick peas. Maybe I should.

Hummus varies greatly from cook to cook. The quantities above are guidelines. This recipe should be adjusted to your taste. More or less of any of the ingredients is acceptable.

16 Oz Canned Garbanzo Beans
3-4 Tb Tahini
1 Cl Garlic, cut up or crushed
½ Ea Lemon Juice
TT Salt
2-3 Tb Olive Oil
2-3 Tb Water

Place all the ingredients except the water into the bowl of a food processor and process until fairly smooth and fully blended.

Add water to obtain the desired thickness and process again until smooth.

Adjust salt and lemon to taste.


If you like, you can make Kalamata olive hummus by adding a handful of olives to this recipe. Roasted red pepper hummus is another option.

 

[Alix]

Another vote for canned chickpeas here. I'm a lazy cook. I'm sure the dried ones TASTE better, but I find the canned ones much faster and easier to work with. I tend to use roasted garlic in mine, and I do a whole head of roasted garlic for one can of chickpeas. I don't put any tahini in mine either, I have a friend who is allergic and I don't want to kill her.

I have a lovely red pepper on my plant, a can of chickpeas and some lovely fresh garlic sitting in the pantry. Hmmmm...I think that might be on our menu for lunch one of these afternoons.

What do you all use to scoop your hummus? I have a selection of crackers that we all like, but recently my daughters have been using peapods and cucumbers.

 

[Andy M.]

...What do you all use to scoop your hummus? I have a selection of crackers that we all like, but recently my daughters have been using peapods and cucumbers.

I usually use pieces of pita.

 

[Dawgluver]

Thinking hummus may be on the menu here sometime soon too. I don't have tahini, but I do have sesame oil. Hmmm.

 

[Alix]

I usually use pieces of pita.

Do you toast them at all first or just cut up fresh pita?