Side Dish - 14th Nov

Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Homemade Hummus

It’s time for one of Kevin’s favorite foods: hummus. Sure it is one of those things you can easily (and cheaply!) buy premade in the supermarket, but if you have a food processor you can have your own delicious homemade hummus in just a few minutes. Homemade hummus will taste less like drywall compound and more like a trip to Mykonos.


Basic hummus includes garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas), sesame tahini, olive oil, garlic and salt/pepper to taste. And if you take one quick look at your refrigerated deli case, you’re bound to see many different flavors of hummus (garlic, roasted red pepper, pine nut, sun-dried tomato, etc.) or hummus made with beans other than garbanzos (i.e. white beans, etc.). Learning a hummus recipe is again about learning a technique that you can adapt for your needs.

In my experience, hummus is universally loved. Besides being a delicious side that is easily enjoyed with carrots or homemade pita chips, hummus also makes a delicious (and healthy!) spread on a vegetable sandwich. Yummmnm!

Today I’ll share a hummus recipe from Luc’s mom who was in town visiting. Apparently she redecorated Nora’s house into something more Casablanca than Pasadena but you can still enjoy hummus with nothing more exotic than pita bread!

What are YOUR favorite flavors of hummus?


HUMMUS
Makes 1 ¼ cups

Ingredients

One 15 ½-ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 small garlic cloves, minced
¼-cup olive oil
¼-cup minced parsley
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, sesame oil, and garlic in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until the chickpeas are finely chopped. Add the olive oil slowly with the motor running and continue processing until the hummus is the consistency of a coarse puree.
Transfer the hummus to a mixing bowl and stir in the parsley, scallions and salt and pepper to taste. Store the hummus, covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature about ½-hour before serving.