Hummus Among Us

Hummus quite simply is delicious. If you are unfamiliar with it you are lucky because now you get the pleasure of trying it for the first time and having your taste buds seduced by creamy Greco-Middle Eastern deliciousness. Seriously you're going to melt like one of those dainty ladies Fabio is always cradling in an I Can't Believe It's Not Butter commercial. Despite it's deliciousness this is one of the easiest, most versatile recipes you will ever prepare.



"I wish we were eating hummus."





 Hummus is roughly the Arabic word for the "chickpea". Due to it's most humble ingredients, chickpeas, garlic, lemon and sesame recipes for what we know as hummus date back to 13th century Egypt. Surely preparing this dish back then was a lot more difficult that what we're going to do.

For beginners I made this recipe small so that you can try it without making a pound of it, all you have to do is double the recipe if you want.

Here's what you'll need:

1 regular can of chickpea aka garbanzo beans, drained;

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon;

1 clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped;

1/4 or so cup of olive oil;

1 tsp. salt;

1 tsp of sesame seeds (optional)

I like to rinse my beans, cover then with water and bring them to a rapid boil then drain and rinse them once more. It's not mandatory but it does two things, I think it makes for a creamier, smoother hummus and the rinsing, boiling, rinsing routine eliminates a lot of what makes beans the musical fruit. Moving on, throw your first three ingredients into your food processor and go to town on it. Slowly begin to add the oil until a smooth, not runny texture is achieved, think spreadable not drizzle-able. Add salt to taste, you may not enjoy the entire tsp if you aren't a salt person. If you like sesame, throw those seeds in, otherwise omit them. Pulse to combine and taste again. That's it, you're done.

 This can be enjoyed warm or cold on any toasty bread, as a vegetable dip, on a sandwich instead of meat or in addition to the meat, inside lettuce wraps the list is never ending. You can also add lots of things to your hummus like roasted peppers, roasted garlic, any sort of olives, lemon zest, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes etc. Experiment, this recipe is cheap and delicious and I've seen it made with everything from cannelini beans to edamame.