For all the busy cooks out there with more to do than "mise en place", which is the hoity-toity, high-flautin’ practice of carefully measuring ingredients into teeny bowls before cooking so not a microgram too much fenugreek get used. Who cleans up after these people and why do they waste their money on teeny bowls when they could be spending it on a spice grinder or some new OPI nail polish? Forget mise en place, stick a dirty spoon into your bottled chopped garlic and come cook with me.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Easy Chick-Peasy Hummus
Hummus is delicious and it is so easy to make. In fact, the hardest part of making hummus is cleaning up the food processor when you are finished. This is especially true if you have the same KitchenAid food processor as me. The blade tends to get food stuck underneath and is a pain in the patoot to clean. But, it is still my favorite kitchen gadget.
So hummus is super easy to make and you can be very creative with your ingredients. I make it in a big batch and then my husband takes it to work all week long and I snack on it whenever I walk by the refrigerator. Because our refrigerator isn't on the main path to anywhere I have to purposefully walk by the refrigerator in order to snack, but that's neither here nor there. Except that it is there. And the hummus is really good.
I make my hummus with tons of garlic and cumin. You could go light on either of these and even eliminate the cumin altogether. You could also make this hummus with black beans instead of chickpeas. Tahini paste is essential to hummus and is made from sesame seeds. You can buy it at Whole Foods or an international market. The inital cost is often higher than buying store-bought hummus but it takes me about 3 months to go through a jar and I typically make hummus one to two times a week. I paid $5.99 for the last jar at a Middle Eastern grocery store. It is usually a bit higher at Whole Foods.
Hummus (Collected from a bunch of different ideas added together to make this one)
3 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon minced garlic or as many cloves as you want
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1-2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons tahini paste
Olive or sunflower oil
Fresh cilantro
Mince your garlic in the food processor, if it isn't already minced. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and tahini paste and mince. When a paste begins to form open the food chute on your food processor and slowly add your oil. When your hummus is nice and smooth you have added enough oil. Be careful not to add too much oil because you can always place a little on top when you serve it. This is how it is served in Middle Eastern restaurants. Garnish with a bit of fresh cilantro.
Labels:
chick peas,
cumin,
dip,
easy party,
hummus,
tahini paste
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I love your recipe! I can't wait to try it when I get home and off this dang bus-we're on tour again....I love to cook and am so glad that I found you through who knows how!
ReplyDeleteCome stop by some time! http://www.potholesandpantyhose.com