From 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (cooked from dry or canned, drained)
• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor container fitted with a steel blade. Cover and process until pureed.

Variations

Add ¼ cup chopped scallions and Tabasco to taste

Personal Notes:

• The hardest part of this recipe is actually the chickpeas. I had never worked with chickpeas before this recipe (though I’ve had hummus several times from places around town and know it’s absolutely delicious), so I had no idea the amount of work that goes into them. If you cook them from dried chickpeas, you may want to do some pre-planning; at least a day before you want to use it. You have to soak the peas overnight or “flash cook” them. (I prefer the overnight method because it’s too much work and time consuming.) The canned chickpeas taste differently to me, but I may be a naturalist snob. Do what works best for you.
• Though tahini sounds really exotic and hard to find, it’s actually quite easy to get your hands on. Though I didn’t find it at the mega supermarkets (i.e. Meijer or Wal-Mart), I did find it at Green Tree. For a huge can (which went for about $10), you can certainly get a lot of hummus out of it.
• So “why hummus?” you may ask. Well, hummus makes for a really great dip or spread on crackers (though most people eat them with pita chips) and it’s not so bad for you, either. Most people are usually turned off by its grayish appearance but it’s more than meets the eye. Promise. Totally worth it.

Happy Cooking!

GCM photo by R.E. Whipple 

By R.E. Whipple