Family Chow Hall

A Middle Eastern Snack

March 20th, 2006

A couple of weeks ago I tried hummus for the first time, and was surprised to really like it. Hummus is basically made from chickpeas and I’m not much of a bean-person. Most of the time, I would just as soon leave the beans for someone else to eat. When we go out for Mexican food, I usually ask our server to put my beans on my husband’s plate. Hubby has mentioned wanting to try hummus, but I always thought it sounded… well… gross, so I did what I always do when I don’t like his suggestions - I ignored it.

However, I had the opportunity to taste some hummus my friend Sandra had brought in her lunch and WOW! It was pretty tasty. She was dipping it with some organic corn and soy chips, which were also good. Sandra had obviously made it herself, so I asked her what was in it and promptly hunted down the ingredients in my grocery store. Besides the chickpeas or garbanzo beans, you need something called tahini, which is a peanut-butter like paste made from sesame seeds. It’s quite a bit runnier than peanut butter, but it’s the only thing I can think to compare it to. Most of the other ingredients you probably already have at home.

Being mostly clueless about foreign foods (particularly Middle East cuisine) I was lucky to find the tahini right next to the garbanzo beans. Maybe all grocers keep it there - I’m not sure. I was expecting to have to hunt for it and then ask an employee in a blue or red vest, who would have to find another employee who actually knew what I was talking about, but instead I found it right away. To dip my hummus with I bought some of my favorite crackers - seedy, organic things called “Doktor Kracker,” but corn chips or any kind of sturdy dipping chip or cracker will do.

Here’s the recipe I used:

Hummus
makes 1 1/2 c. / prep. time: 5 minutes

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 c. tahini
2-3 T. water
2-3 T. olive oil
3 T. lemon juice
2 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. cumin
salt to taste

Start by draining the chickpeas and rinsing them a bit. After that, put everything into your food chopper or food processor. Grind away until the large chunks are gone and you have a grainy-textured paste. It’s about the consistency of natural peanut butter - maybe a little bit thicker. Taste it and adjust to suit yourself. Some people may want to add more lemon juice, others will want more garlic. Snack on and refrigerate the leftovers.

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Entry Filed under: Condiments, Most Popular Posts, Recipes, appetizers