Food Junta

Hummus: A Middle Eastern dip or spread made from mashed chickpeas. Delicious, cheap, and easy, typically purchased in supermarkets (a flaw that is to be remedied today). Most commonly spelled in Turkish as humus, though this spelling is to be avoided in English for fear of confusion.

Humus: The degraded organic material in soil, sometimes causing the layers of soil to be different colors (brown or black). Of the earth.

These two words, only an ‘m’ apart from each other, are not so very far apart at all. What is a more elemental, more earthy, more organic (not in the vs. conventional sense) food than hummus? For whatever reason, to me, making hummus feels like a deeply primeval act, and I am not alone: much folklore names hummus as one of the first prepared foods in history, dating back to at least the 12th century. Even then, they realized what so many of us ignore today as we buy our containers of Sabra (if you must buy hummus, you must buy Sabra): hummus is easy, it’s inexpensive, it’s infinitely customizable (if you make it yourself), it’s filling, and — despite its relative healthiness (debate the merits of good vs. bad fats here) — it feels disproportionately luxurious, considering its main ingredient is chickpeas.

As with almost all things, homemade hummus is infinitely better than store-bought. You can’t even imagine how much better, unless you’ve had really really excellent hummus at a Middle Eastern restaurant and wondered how theirs was so good. In all likelihood, there was no special trick, it was just because they made it themselves. And you can, too. In about 5 minutes, plus 2 minutes to clean the food processor after.

This recipe comes from Elise at Simply Recipes. I was going to use dried chickpeas, but she said that she has used both dried and canned and actually liked the texture of the canned much better. Since I’m nobody to argue with Elise, and since she was actually recommending the considerably more convenient option, I quickly gave up my plan. (Someday I will test this on my own and get back to you.) As for the other ingredients, you want them to be good, particularly the tahini. I got mine in bulk at the local co-op and told the woman next to me that I was making hummus for the first time while I scooped it into my jar. “Oh,” she said to me approvingly. “You’ve made the right choice. This is the only tahini I ever use. It makes such a difference.” Again, as I am in no position to argue, having never made hummus before, I would advise you to follow this co-op stranger’s wisdom. The tahini I bought there tasted richly of sesame and was a beautiful dark brown color, nothing like what I saw in the jars. In a pinch, however, I’m sure the jars will do. As for olive oil, I just used my same old TJ’s extra-virgin. I don’t think you need to go too gourmet on that.

This recipe makes a decently garlicky hummus; you may want to taste it when it’s all blended together before adding more. (I love garlic as much — probably more — than the next girl, but this was enough for me.) You could also add any number of other flavors: roasted red pepper and basil are two that I see a lot in the supermarket, but use your imagination.

As for the texture, I wanted mine to be on the lighter, fluffier side (this is the joy of making homemade hummus after all), and ended up adding more water and olive oil than the recipe stated. I’ve left the basic recipe below, though, so you can decide for yourself. If you do want to thin it, it’s not an exact science; just don’t put in too much (no more than 1/4 cup) of either olive oil or water at a time before whizzing it again and checking out the results.

Serve with tabbouleh, or any number of other dishes. Or, and this homemade version is good enough, you may just find yourself eating a spoonful of it plain.

Note: this recipe makes A LOT of hummus. Like, hummus out your ears. You may want to halve it, though the googles say that you can freeze hummus fine, so I may try that next time around (and report back, as well).

Hummus

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water (or more)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or more)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Optional garnishes: Pine nuts (toasted or untoasted), olive oil (drizzled over), za’atar (sprinkled over)

1.  In a food processor, combine the garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste. Add more water and/or olive oil to achieve desired texture.

2. Spoon into serving dish and add any or all garnishes (other options abound, as well). Will keep in a tupperware in the fridge for…well, now going on two weeks. So two weeks, at least.

Tags: chickpeas, garbanzo, garlic, hummus, oil, pine nuts, sesame, tahini, za'atar