Hummus

I can't remember the last time I made hummus. I recently read an article about how good beans for you so I decided to make some again. This was delicious and I'll definitely make it again.

I have a new Hummus #2 recipe made from dried chickpeas and using the pressure cooker. It's basically the same as this recipe, except for the initial steps. I like the version from dried chickpeas better.

This is a half recipe of the "Hummus Bi Tahini" recipe from the excellent cookbook: Bean By Bean: A Cookbook: More than 175 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans, Even Sweet Beans!by Crescent Dragonwagon.

1 can (15 oz.) of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1 1/2 tbsp. tahini 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, minced juice of 1 lemon salt freshly ground pepper

I use Eden organic chickpeas as their cans are not lined with BPA.

Drain the can of beans but reserve the liquid.

If you skin the chickpeas it makes for a smoother hummus, and it's not that hard or time consuming, at least with a small recipe. Just put them on kitchen towel, fold it in half, and rub them a bit. You don't want to squish them, but put enough pressure and the skins just fall off. Pick them out and that's it.

Add the ingredients to the food processor and purée. Add the liquid from the chickpeas as necessary, an ounce or two will probably do it. You can also just use plain water; it makes the resulting hummus taste and smell less "beany."

I served it with New York Style (brand) red hot chili pepper flavor baked pita chips. It was excellent! A 2 oz. ramekin with 1.0 oz. chips is a perfect generous single serving size. The hummus is drizzled with a little olive oil and a dash of smoked paprika.

One 15 oz. can of chickpeas makes about 4 individual servings (above, using the 2 oz. ramekin).

Update 6/13/2013: I read that hummus can be frozen, so I packaged up one serving, 2.5 oz. by weight, the amount in the 2 oz. ramekin, above. We'll see how it works.

Update 7/30/2013: Oh yea, freezing works great. Almost indistinguishable from before. Maybe a tiny bit softer, but not at all objectionable. Tastes the same.