Making Great Homemade Hummus

Hummus (Arabic: حُمُّص‎) is a Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt andgarlic.

Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas are a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the chickpeas. Depending on the recipe, hummus carries varying amounts of monounsaturated fat. Hummus is useful in vegetarian and vegandiets; like other combinations of grains and pulses, it serves as a complete protein when eaten with bread.

Oh and its delicious!!! When its done right of course. And I hear mine is pretty great so heres how to make it. :-)

First and most important is having the right ingredients. Finding the right ingredients isnt complicated at all, find a Middle Eastern market. Done! My favorite is Byblos Market on Veterans. (2020 Veterans Blvd)

There are several ways to go about it, I use my mother's technique of throwing everything in a blender and wait for the magic to happen. You could do it the long way but why??

Recipe:

1-2 cloves garlic

2-3 lemons

1/2 cup of Tahini sauce (Sesame paste)  I prefer the Ziyad Brand)

1 can of Chick Peas ( from the Middle Eastern Market. It just tasted better)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Peel garlic cloves,  add 1/2 teaspoon-ish salt to the garlic and mash them up. You can use a garlic press to mash them. I use a mortar. 

(Salt is good to sprinkle over the cloves of garlic itself. It helps to soak up the natural juices that are released when crushed). 

2. Next comes the chick peas. They will need to be rinsed off before adding them to the food processor pot to wash off the perservative flavor. Blending the peas is the longest process.  The peas tend to get chunky and dry so water will need to be added periodically in order to keep more of a paste like consistency. 

3. Once peas are blended, add Tahini sauce.. The Tahini will also serve as a thickening agent. Blend again.

4. Add lemon juice to taste and blend some more! You may like more of a lemony taste. You can gage it to your liking. This is very much a case if less is more. You will have to add/taste/add a little more until you find the right taste for you. I go heavy on the lemon! So its not unlikely for me to use 3 -4 lemons. 

** if consistency is too runny add more Tahini. 

Top with Olive Oil and enjoy!

PS. Byblos Market has the best pita bread! ( and pre made hummus if you want to skip all of the above and go straight for the end result!)