Thursday, August 13, 2009

Hummus

Soak a one-pound bag of chicpeas (garbanzos) overnight. Rinse them and cook them fully immersed in water, in a pressure cooker with a few dollops of olive oil, for 20 minutes. The oil is essential to keep the bean foam from clogging the vent pipe of the pressure cooker. You can also cook the chic peas on the stovetop or crockpot or bake them in a dutch oven, 45 minutes to an hour. Please don't add salt until they are cooked or they will never become tender!

After they are cooled, drain most of the liquid (save it in case you need more liquid later). Use a food processor or blender and pour in a whole can (15 oz) of Joyva sesame tahini. Blend it for a few seconds until smooth and then pour out half the amount back into the can and refrigerate it. Then squeeze four lemons and add the juice and pulse in the food processor or blender. Add the chickpeas to the tahini/lemon mixture and blend. Add more chickpea liquid if the mixture seems dry. Then add a few fresh cloves of garlic, cored, and a pinch of cumin and cayenne and parsley and salt. Pay attention to the magic Lebanese trio - the salt/tahini/lemon balance. Enjoy! This makes a lot of hummus! You can freeze the extra or share it with a neighbor.

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