nom nom nom!

nom nom nom!

Hello!! I found a great recipe and gave it a go today.

Like most other people, I love Hummus, I can eat it up by the bucket, but sadly, to get the really good kinds, you really have to pay for it. Eight ounces can get up to five or so dollars, and hey! I can eat that in one sitting! So. the Great Unemployed Cook sets out again, in order to see what he can do about this. I started off with a few criteria before I found a recipe to try. I wanted everything as fresh as possible, of course, along with proper spices. I also wanted to use dried chickpeas (that’s Garbanzo beans, as well) over canned, for the sole reason that dried beans retain twice as much of their nutritional value over canned. Also, dried is cheaper! Sounds like two great wins to me. Certainly, you have to wait a bit longer for dried beans, but I think it’s worth it, on those two facts alone- and I suspect, that they probably taste better, too! Just something about something being preserved in a wet metal can with heat in god-knows-what just doesn’t sound optimal.. so, given the choice!

Anyhow, I’m going to go ahead and mention it: Get creative and add what you like to your hummus! Red peppers are easy to roast over a gas range, olives, garlic.. make yourself happy. You’re making something wonderful for your body, tasty, and just good all around. Also, if you have a lot of infused olive oil around.. hmm! Anyhow, after the jump, here’s the recipe I used with great success today, with my own notes thrown in.

Hummus

1-1/2 cups dried chick peas
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon, strained
1/4 cup tahini
Olive oil

Place chick peas in a large pot. Cover with water and let sit overnight. In the morning, drain the water. Return the beans to the pot. Cover with fresh water. Add the bay leaf and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans, saving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf.

Place the cooked beans in the jar of a food processor. Add the garlic, lemon, tahini, and 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Pulse. Add olive oil until a smooth paste is formed. Serve in a bowl as is, or with bread.

My notes: Warm chickpeas are easier to handle than cold ones. So, puree when they cool off enough to the touch. It’ll stiffen up more upon cooling. I’ve heard you can freeze this stuff, too! I doubled the recipe and am trying that. Also, when it comes to the garlic- before you peel, microwave the cloves for about 15 seconds. The skin will simply slip off! Much easier. Also, I used my handy-dandy Magic Bullet! food processor- worked perfectly. I changed up the recipe- I added about a sixteenth of a teaspoon of cumin, a little more salt.. it’s all about whatever floats your boat, bub- Have some fun with what you add!

Posted: 21 Jun, 2009 | [12] Comments
Categories: Do it Yourself , Food And Recipes , Nothing | Tags: | By: Christopher.