MrBill's Basic Hummus Dip
My Basic Hummus Dip + Extra Tasty Variations
“Hummus bi Tahini” or generally known as just “hummus” is a dish that originated in the Eastern Mediterranean, possibly in Egypt or with the Phonecians in the Levante, about 9000 years ago. Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas, which are one of the oldest cultivated and prepared foods. References to hummus date back to ancient Egypt around 7000 B.C. Hummus spread throughout the cuisines of Arabia, North Africa, Turkey, and into Eastern Greece and its southern Aegean islands especially Crete, Cyprus, and Rhodos. However, hummus is rarely found on the menu in the tavernas of mainland Greece.
Hummus is quick and easy to make, delicious, and healthy too! There is no cooking involved (unless you want to prepare your own chick peas from scratch)! Just grab your food processor and let it do all the work. The basis of Hummus are Chickpeas (more commonly known by their Spanish name garbanzo beans here in the US) and Tahini - a paste made of ground roasted sesame seeds. Add a little lemon juice, olive oil, and some spices to complete the Hummus recipe.
My Basic Hummus Ingredients:
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)drain and save juice
2-3 cloves garlic crushed or finely minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
ground black pepper and salt to taste
Preparation:
In food processor add garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini blending until smooth. Add spices and blend well. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. If hummus is too thick blend in some of the saved bean juice 1 TBS at a time until you get your desired consistency. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate a couple hours or until party time.
At serving time, garnish with a little drizzle of olive oil and some chopped fresh cilantro or parsley leaves. Serve hummus with pita bread for dipping.
Some of My Favourite Hummus Variations:
Crisp pita bread - Cut each pita into 8 wedges, open and separate wedges on a cookie sheet, under broiler toast pita wedges until just crisp. Watch them closely as they crisp and brown very quick!
Roasted Garlic - (one of my favs!) instead of the fresh garlic use 1/2 the cloves of a roasted garlic bulb (or use the whole bulb and make a double batch).
Pine Nuts - Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of roasted pine nuts over hummus at serving time.
Red Pepper - stir in 1/2 cup minced marinated roasted red peppers at the end.
Sun Dried Tomato - add 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, or allow 1/4 cup dry packaged to soak in the olive oil and lemon juice before starting. If using dry pkg you might add 1 more TBS olive oil to recipe.
Kalamata Olive - add 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pits removed. Stir in olives at the end of preparation and give the food processor a couple quick pulses to just chop olives without pureeing them.
Spinach, Feta, or Both! - add 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach, or add 1/3 cup crumbled Feta cheese. Or go completely crazy and add both!
Black Bean Hummus - this is a south-western take on traditional hummus. Substitute a can of Black Beans (turtle beans) for the chick peas, 2 TBS fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice, and 1 tsp medium hot chili powder for the ginger and cayenne. To give it a little kick add 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers finely minced (be sure to remove all the seeds). This version is good on toasted pita or serve with tortilla chips.
Hummus keeps well in the refrigerator, up to 2 weeks in an air-tight container. I usually make a double batch of hummus, especially if I make the basic recipe. I can then scoop out a little for the two of us and even stir in some peppers, or olives, or whatever as may be the whim that day. For a party you can make a double batch, split it two or three ways and add red peppers, tomatoes, or olives to different bowls.
