How about Hummus?

 

Hummus with fresh veggies

 

Some time ago, I came across a book titled Make the Bread, Not the Butter.  This book listed all kinds of foods, and which were cheaper and better to make, and which we should just purchase in our favorite supermarket.  One of the foods was hummus.  It's cheaper to make your own hummus instead of buying it.  I have tried many hummus recipes and just this past spring came across this one, which my family loves.  I now make it nearly every week.  It's a really healthy snack with cut up veggies or pretzels.

While I did say it's cheaper to make your own hummus, you have to factor in the price of sesame tahini.  Tahini is a paste kind of like peanut butter made from sesame seeds.  It's a little pricey, but you only use a quarter cup, so a jar lasts quite a while. The cheapest way to make this is to buy the beans dried and soak and cook them, but that is just too much trouble for the few pennies you save.  You can usually find chick peas (also called garbanzos) for less than a dollar a can. Look in the Spanish food section, since they are usually a little cheaper there. The hardest part of this recipe is peeling and slicing the garlic. I used to throw in the cloves whole and chop them with the chick peas, but this recipe has you slice and simmer the garlic in olive oil.  What a difference!  Raw garlic can have kind of a bite, simmering it just until it softens gives you a milder, gentler garlic flavor.  I do recommend using a food processor for this, because in a blender you have to blend the chick peas in small batches.

There are debates as to whether you should remove the thin skin from the chickpeas.  Don't waste your time!  One of my favorite most reliable sources tried it both ways and said there is no difference in taste as long as they are well blended. We want to make this easy not painful!!

When you serve this, it's best to take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.  You can also add a little drizzle of olive oil to the top along with some parsley and paprika.  Okay here we go!

2 cans of chickpeas
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sesame tahini
juice of 1 lemon
6 large garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt

Drain the beans, but reserve about 1 cup of the liquid.  Pour olive oil into a small pan, add the garlic and heat over medium heat.  Keep a close watch on the garlic!  You only want to soften it, not brown it.  Browned garlic is bitter and yucky. Add the chickpeas, tahini, salt, and lemon juice to the food processor and blend; the mixture will be VERY thick.  Remove the garlic from the oil using a slotted spoon, add to the food processor and continue to blend.  While the food processor is running, add the oil from the pan in a slow stream.  If the mixture still seems thick to you, add some of the reserved liquid a little at a time until you reach a desired consistency.  Taste and check for seasoning, sometimes if my lemons are a little small, I may add more lemon juice, but that is just personal preference. You can adapt this recipe by adding things like roasted red peppers from a jar, but just add a little at a time as you are mixing the chickpeas and taste as you go.  Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
Carol

a.k.a. Nonnie