Creating seasonal recipes that are inspired by my passion for local, organic foods

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Kick-ass hummus

Hummus in sight, afternoon delightI love me some hummus! Especially when you make it yourself and when you use dried chickpeas. You can substitute 2 cups of canned chickpeas in this recipe if you don't have dried ones.

1 cup dried chickpeas (née garbanzo beans)
5 cloves garlic
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup tahini (ground sesame seeds)
6 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

If you are using the 2 cups canned beans, you can skip this step:

Step 1. Preparing the chickpeas

Soak the chickpeas in water and the following mixture:

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon salt

Add enough water to the 3 ingredients above to form a paste and mix into the water that you will soak the beans in. Soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add the beans to enough water to cover them with a few inches and bring to a boil. Simmer until soft (usually about 1/2 an hour, but it might take up to an hour depending on the hardness of your water). When the beans are the right consistency (firm, yet soft enough to bite into), drain. If you want to remove the skins, soak in cold water, straining the skins as they float to the top.


Step 2. Making the hummus

In a food processor, process the garlic until minced. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until well blended. If you want you can serve with paprika, hot sauce or a drizzle of olive oil on top.

You can double this recipe if you want to have a serious hummus-fest. I've heard that you can freeze hummus, but haven't tried it myself, but it's worth a try.

If you are interested in reading more about the many wonders of beans, check out this post.