Hummus is a bit of a head scratcher.
It’s been around forever, but suddenly a few years ago became the new “IT” food.
At the grocery store, a small container starts at $3.99 and goes up considerably if it has other high fashion ingredients (use the words artisan and roasted and you can add at least another dollar).
Food bloggers and their commenters have gone crazy as well, posting recipes with multiple steps and heated arguments about whether a Vitamix is better than a food processor. Don’t even get me started on the remove-the-skins vs. leave-the-skins debates. (Honestly, I fell for it, and used to skin them, but at least for me, the difference isn’t worth the work).
Pretty much all of my cooking revolves around reading a lot of recipes online, watching a few favorite TV shows, and then peeling away the overdone steps, eliminating the expensive ingredients and seeing what results.
For hummus, I’ve stripped it down the the really easy parts.
I use one can of Garbonzo Beans/Chickpeas. I rinse them throughly in a colander under cold water because I don’t like the watery slime they come in. If some of the skins come off, fine. If they don’t, no big deal.
Some recipes call for tahini. I don’t generally have that in the house, and it is pricey and goes bad quickly. I don’t miss it. If you do, add that in here.
In a food processor fitted with the regular S-cutting blade, I place all the Garbonzos, a glug of olive oil, a splash of lemon juice (concentrate is fine) and a few small garlic cloves.
A bit about my measurement system: It’s really vague and totally personalized. If you like a lot of something, use it. If you don’t like something, leave it out (or use as little as possible if it is crucial).
Cumin and paprika are my main spices for hummus. I add red chili flake for heat. I add a little tiny bit of oregano for that special “oh that’s good, what’s in there?” flavor. Keep in mind that garbanzo beans are pretty neutral in taste, so if you want flavorful hummus, you’ll need to be generous with your spicing.
The food processor is my weapon of choice. I process until I end up with a chunky bowlful that is starting to climb and stick to the sides.
I use a spatula (the one that came with the Cusinart is perfect) to scrape down the sides. I then process them more, adding water as I go to get the consistency I want. I like a thick hummus for dip. If it’s going to be a condiment for a wrap sandwich, then I go thinner.
The most important step here is next – taste it. Does it need more of something? Add it. For health reasons we don’t use salt in our cooking. But more spices = more flavor. And a new favorite obsession is the 21 Salute from Trader Joe’s (not an affiliate link. just a good spice blend).
When finished, carefully remove the blade (that thing is really sharp) and scoop/scrape the hummus into a bowl with a lid. I like to add a little bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of the spices already used as a topping. This lets everyone know what kind of hummus it is, and adds a little extra flavor. This keeps in the fridge for about a week; you may need to stir it before serving to work the water back in.
I’m not a nutritionist, but you can see what makes hummus healthy is the garbanzo beans – high fiber, low in fat and they contain a little calcium and iron. Calorie wise it’s dense, so as a snack you have to watch portion control. We like to have this on rice cakes so we don’t overload on carbs (which would happen if we used pita chips).
