Hummus: Healthy and Delicious...and Easy to Make!

Although I live by Italian cooking, among many other ethnic favourites of mine is Lebanese cuisine! One reason is that I consider the foods to allow for a very healthy, balanced diet. It is also especially suitable for vegetarians. And so you could conclude that I eat Lebanese food more than I make it. However, a hummus recipe that comes from a best friend of mine's mother is one that keeps me quite busy.

I wanted to first introduce Lebanese cuisine with hummus because it is a universally tasty dip that does not necessarily call for an acquired taste. It is a chickpea dip with its second most important ingredient tahina (ground sesame seed paste), and so this dip is also referred to as hummus bi tahina, "chickpeas with tahina". This also tangy and garlicky dip can be found in your local grocery store, but the only time I have purchased hummus is from the market I used to work for, where my friend's mother made it from scratch! Of course, I recommend making it yourself as well, and this recipe will make it all that much easier.

The Recipe

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tahina
1 tbsp, lemon juice (or more, to your taste)
water, to thin
salt, to taste

Wash and drain your chickpeas and add them to a pot of water to boil. While your chickpeas are warming, put your garlic into a food processor and crush.

Once your chickpeas are warmed, strain them, and add on top of your crushed garlic. Begin to whip your chickpeas, scraping the chickpeas from the edges if and when necessary. While the machine is on, add water slowly to thin, but until the consistency is still quite thick, at this point it should be like peanut butter. You do not want to add a lot of water otherwise your chickpeas will start to clump.

Now add your tahina and lemon juice. Again, it is important to add your ingredients slowly, so your hummus is not watery. Your final texture should be smooth; not thick and not watery. Remember, it's a dip/spread!

Add your salt to taste and garnish with olive oil and parsley. There are numerous other ways you can garnish hummus including cucumber, turnips, olives, green onions and/or paprika. Hummus is traditionally eaten with pita bread or various flat breads, but is increasingly popular as a dip for crackers or tortilla chips. I think it pairs well with raw vegetables as a veggie dip.

It cannot get easier! Chill and serve,

Haley