Howdy all,
Today I made homemade hummus as I have many times before (in my blender), but I’m wondering if there are other, better methods. Keep in mind I never have tahini paste at home, so my hummus never contains tahini.
I drain one can of chick peas and add it to the blender with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, water, minced garlic, onion flakes, and smoked paprika, and blend until smooth and creamy. I don’t measure exact amounts for anything. It’s good enough to not make me feel like I should be paying $4 for a little container of premade hummus, but I wouldn’t mind making it even better.
Take out the paprika, and that’s pretty much my own “recipe”. I made it once with shallots instead of onions, due to larder deficiencies, and that was nice.
But there really is nothing nicer to eat on a hot day, accompanied by some fresh crusty bread. Or if there’s no suitable bread, I just eat it out of the tub with a spoon.
If you don’t want to get Tahini, you might get some sesame seeds roast them in the oven for just a few minutes until toasted, and throw them in. It’s also not hard at all to get dried chick peas and cook them yourself. Cheaper than the canned stuff.
That’s pretty much my recipe, too, but there are some yummy variations you might like. Try adding any or all of the following:
- Fresh parsley
- Plain yogurt
- Lime juice instead of lemon
- Cayenne pepper
- Cumin
- Roasted red bell pepper
- Sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil, drained)
Yummy!
My own additions (not all at once, of course) are:
–fresh cilantro
–chili paste
–olive tapenade (seriously delicious when added to plain hummus! My tapenade is green unstuffed olives, olive oil, pitted kalamatas, minced garlic, cilantro, lemon juice and a touch of jalapeno pepper juice, chopped in a food processor or blender to a rough paste—also delicious by itself on crackers or crusty bread)
–artichoke hearts (and I second the sundried tomatoes suggested above)
–fire-roasted garlic clove segments
Chill to picnic-readiness and head outdoors!
–Beck
I keep a jar of tahini in my fridge for hummus making purposes, but I’ve made it your way before. I don’t add paprika but I often do add crushed red pepper flakes and/or half of a small (heirloom, if in season) tomato. It adds a bit of liquid and sweetness and mellows the tart lemon and garlic.
Oh, and I don’t use any water, I use some of the juice from the garbanzo bean can.