Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Cumin-spiked Hummus


I created this at two in the morning the first time, and guests loved it. The second time, I made it a day ahead, and people still requested the recipe, so I assure you that you can make it at anytime of the day, and it will be tasty.

2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans, juice reserved
4-5 plump cloves fresh garlic, finely minced or pressed
a few tablespoons tahini
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 and 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, to taste
@ 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
@ 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (in wonderful summertime) or a tsp. dried parsley.
a few pinches of sea salt, to taste
generous drizzle of olive oil
reserved garbanzo juice



Puree garbanzo beans until smooth. Add garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and remaining spices, and puree again. Add olive oil while pureeing and add as much reserved garbanzo juice as needed to make the desired consistency. Serve with crackers or pita wedges.

*I usually taste-test this before adding the reserved garbanzo juice, because sometimes it needs another splash or two of lemon juice first.

3 comments:

Rebecca said...

Hummus is something I have been craving ever since I was introduced to it...and I have sought out recipe after recipe and bought all the ingredients except one. Tahini. I can't find the stuff. SO my cupboard is brimming with garbanzo beans, my ccokbooks covered with loose-leaf pages of hummus recipes and STILL NO HUMMUS. PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE-tell me...where did you FIND Tahini and how can I do the same?!?!

Did I say please?!?

alltheposts said...

Rebeccca-
We have two grocery stores in my small town. One keeps the tahini with the rice and the other with the Asian food. Strange but true. Good luck!!

Torie

Abigail said...

No tahini? No problem! Just make it without it. Though most recipes include a bit of tahini, some deliberately exclude it to make a low-fat spread. Tahini is sesame seed paste, like the peanut butter of the sesame seed world.

Before I had tahini, I made hummus without it, with yummy results. My dad sometimes gives me odd foods that are touted for having health benefits of some kind, and he gave me a can that he'd bought at a health food store. (He mixed his with honey and spread it on toast. Delicious! It's like those sesame-honey health candies, if you've ever had one.)

Anyway, I'd just check the international section of any non-Aldi-or-Save-alot grocery store. I think a store similar to Wegmans or Price Chopper would probably have some tahini floating about.