Holy Homemade Hummus!

I have been meaning to make hummus for ages.  Store bought varieties are a staple of my lunches...with veggies, on pita, sometimes with pretzels or chips.  I adore every variety I've tried...plain, garlic loaded, spicy.  With olives or roasted red pepper.   The only thing that bothered me was a slightly artificial acidic flavor that nagged every brand I'd ever purchased.  I suspected the only solution was to make my own.


adapted from Cook Eat Live Vegetarian


yields about 1 1/2 cups

The Ingredients:
1 - 14 oz can garbanzo beans
3-4 Tbsp tahini
2-3 cloves of garlic
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
oil, cumin and paprika to serve

The Process:
In a large bowl, thoroughly rinse the garbanzo beans, gently squeezing and rubbing the beans together to loosen the skins.   Skin the loosened skins off the top of the water.

Transfer the beans to a medium sauce pan.  Add just enough water to cover.  Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer the beans for about 12-15 minutes, or until soft.

Drain the chickpeas, reserving about 1/4 cup of the liquid.   Rinse, again while gently rubbing together to loosen and remove any remaining skins.  This may sound incredible tedious, but the extra step yields an extra creamy end product!

Transfer the beans to a food processor.  Add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt.  Process until smooth, adding reserved liquid 1 Tbsp at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. 

Spoon the hummus to a serving dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cumin and paprika.  Serve with pita, veggies or chips.

The Review:
I made this to enjoy with lunch.  I almost sat down with the entire batch and a spoon...it's that good...

Homemade pitas to follow!