Hummus

Written by Published on in Appetizers/ Hors D'ouevres, Dips and Spreads
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Lots of people have commented that they really like my hummus.  I think it is because of the cumin.  Hummus is wonderful as a dip or spread for veggies, crackers, and bread.  It is also great on sandwiches.  Use it instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich with turkey and/or vegetables.  My husband has discovered that he loves a dollop of hummus on a green salad.  After he pours the dressing on, he mixes the hummus up with the salad greens and dressing to make the salad a little more substantial and really tasty.  I have started doing the same thing once in a while.  Try it!  This is super-easy to make.  For the most sustainable cooking and eating, boil your own dried chickpeas that you purchase in bulk at a health food store.  Take your own container to the market, have them weigh the empty container before you fill it, and then weigh it again after you fill it to determine the weight of the beans.  This extra effort on your part saves the oil that is burned by the factory that cooks and cans beans, as well as all the other resources consumed in such mass processing.  You are polluting the environment less by taking this effort and eliminating a middleman.

I started soaking the beans early in the morning, cooked them at night, and made the hummus the next day.  It did not take much time or effort; it just delayed the preparation of the hummus by a day.  You can follow my lead here, if you don’t need the hummus immediately, even if you have a busy life and a full-time job.  But if cooking your own beans will just mean that you will never make your own hummus, then just open a can of chick peas and whip the hummus up in five minutes.  No harm done.  You are still being greener than buying store-bought hummus!  Pat yourself on the back.

To cook your own chickpeas:  rinse and soak dried chickpeas in plenty of water in bowl or pot for at least 6 hours.  When ready to cook, rinse and drain.  Put chickpeas in pot with water that covers chickpeas with two finger sections or more above the level of the chickpeas.  Boil for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender.  Add 1 tsp salt after chickpeas are starting to become tender, but before they are finished cooking.  If you add salt at the beginning, the beans will be tough.

2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ – 1/3 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
¾ tsp sea salt
½ tsp. cumin
dash of cayenne
Chop garlic clove as finely as possible in a food processor.  Add chickpeas and process until a it forms a paste.  Add olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and ¼ cup water and process until smooth.  With motor running, add a little more water if mixture seems too thick.  Add sea salt, cayenne and cumin and process a bit more.

One Comment

  1. Elizabeth
    January 31, 2013 at 4:19 pm  ·  Reply

    I love hummus and there was a time when I made my own. Your recipe inspires me to give it a try. Thanks, Wendy.

     

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