Homemade Creamy Hummus ~ 11.17.10

Making your own hummus is such a good trick to have in your back pocket. You only need to have a few pantry staples on hand to throw this together in minutes!

I found this recipe in an issue of Cook's Illustrated and took their recommendation on what brand of tahini to buy as well.

Most hummus recipes that I love have tahini as the star ingredient (next to the chickpeas, that is). Tahini looks like peanut butter but is ground sesame seed paste. CI recommended Joyva or Krinos brand tahinis. I found the Krinos at Market District Giant Eagle for about 6.99 a bottle. I'll probably get at least 4 hummus recipes out of that one bottle, so it's well worth buying your own and making it in the food processor.

They also gave recommendations on which brand of chick peas/garbanzo beans to buy. Pastene came highly recommended and in second place, Goya.

Restaurant Style Hummus

This recipe would be great with homemade Pita Chips!

3 Tbs juice from 1-2 lemons

1/4 cup water

6 tbs tahini, stirred well (that equals 1/2 cup, why they don't say that, I'm not sure)

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 (14oz) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and picked through- I took out the "skins"

1 small garlic clove, minced (about 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

pinch cayenne

1 Tbs minced fresh cilantro or parsley (optional)

paprika (optional)

1. Combine lemon juice and water in a small bowl. Whisk together the tahini and 2 Tbs oil in second bowl. Set aside 2 Tbs. chickpeas for garnish.

2. Process remaning chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until amost fully ground. Scrape down bowl with spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice/water mixture through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds.

3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle with chickpeas and cilantro, cover with plastic wrap and let flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. drizzle with olive oil and serve.

- if you're holding this over for awhile, reserve garnishes until ready to serve. I was transporting my hummus the day I took the pic and didn't want EVOO all over the place, so I just garnished with a little paprika and the chickpeas.

-keeps up to 5 days in fridge. If too thick, add a Tbs of warm water and mix well before serving.