You say hummus... I say hamos, hommos, hommus, homos, houmous, hummos, hummous, or humus

No matter how you spell this Arabic or Armenian or Greek or Lebanese dish, it all translates to the same creamy dip you can savour and enjoy especially because it's good for you.   Being from Los Angeles originally, where there is so much middle eastern culture, I was introduced to it in my late teens and loved it.  Then I discovered Zankou Chicken http://www.zankouchicken.com/.  Although today's blog isn't about Zankou I will give them a quick plug.  If you haven't experienced their inexpensive cuisine, DO!  They have several locations in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas now.  They use secret recipes carried over from old Lebanon they say. They have hummus and garlic sauce that you will never forget.  Their rotisserie chicken is so good in combination with the garlic sauce, hummus and the middle eastern style pickled beets...all I can say is that the instant I arrive for a visit into Los Angeles, I head for Zankou to get my fix.  Enough said. 

A few years ago, here in Northern New Mexico, I met this Greek woman who shared her recipe for hummus with me.  It has become the only one I will make.  I made one modification to her recipe.  She had me using canned garbanzo beans.  I hate using canned anything.  If I can find an easy way to avoid this I will.  Add to the fact that canned garbanzo beans are so expensive.  Then I discovered how economical the bulk section at Whole Foods Market was.  You can pick up dried uncooked garbanzo beans or chick peas as they are referred to by most middle eastern cultures for a fraction of the price as canned.  I buy a large quantity and store them in a sealed jar.  You can purchase bags of dried in most grocery stores too.  Even the Mexican food stores I have mentioned in other posts have them.  It doesn't take much to make a batch of hummus.  I am not going to post all of the wonderful nutritious qualities of this legume, but the Internet is full of information and recipes using them.  I mostly use garbanzos in my hummus recipe.  Cooking them for me is a breeze because I use a pressure cooker to cook them to a soft consistency in 30 minutes.  If you are using the stove top to cook them, you will need to boil them in water or broth for a considerable amount of time. ..about 90 minutes.  That is why I preach the art of pressure cooking...  so much time is saved.  You can figure if using dried beans that they will nearly double in size.  So if you are using a recipe that says for instance to use 4 cups of garbanzos use two cups dried. 

Hummus is a versatile dip.  I have used it in place of mayo in wrap sandwiches.  It is a great dip with raw vegetables, as a side with roasted chicken and just eating it with toasted pita bread is my favorite.  The recipe is easy, but I will say there is one "costly" item in the recipe you can't get around.  The Tahini, which is sesame seed paste...sort of like peanut butter, only made with sesame seeds.  There is an organic brand or two that are really expensive, if you head for a local middle eastern food store if you have one in your area, there is a brand in a can that is bit cheaper...some of the grocery stores stock this brand to.  Tahini's rich flavor is one of the ingredients that make hummus great.  You can eliminate it from the recipe, but the robust slap you get when you take a mouthful of hummus won't be there if you do. 

Hummus

2 cups dried garbanzo beans

2 cloves of garlic (or to taste if you need more garlic)

Juice of two lemons

Zest of one lemon

water or broth garbanzo beans were cooked in

1/4 cup grated red onion

1/4 cup Tahini

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp Greek seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Pita Bread toasted

If you have a pressure cooker, add beans to pot and add water or broth, two inches over level of beans.  Cook for 30 minutes from first sounds of hissing over medium heat.  Remove from heat and allow to de-pressurize naturally.

Do not drain the beans, you will use this liquid for flavor and to then out the hummus.

Stove top cooking, takes about 90 minutes.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to just above a simmer and check for doneness after one hour.  The beans should be soft but not mushy.

Place cooked beans into a food processor or blender.

Add the juice of the lemons and the zest from one of them.

Grate the red onion right into the processor

Add the garlic cloves and process.  Pour about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into top spout of processor or blender and allow to process till somewhat smooth. Add in the Tahini, 

Next add in the olive oil and check for desired consistency.  I like mine a bit on the creamy side, some like their hummus thicker.  Add in more cooking liquid if needed.

Add in the smoked paprika, the Greek seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

Turn off processor or blender and taste.  I usually under salt first and add more at this point if necessary.  Pour into an air tight container and refrigerate for several hours.  You can eat it warm, but the melding of the flavors hasn't happened at this stage.  It will be much more flavorful after chilling.  You can alter this recipe with more lemon juice or more garlic or less garlic.  I find my proportions to be just right for most palates.  I have rushed and used bottled lemon juice in an emergency.  It works but the fresh provides superior results. 

Take whole pita breads and brush each with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with Greek seasoning.  Put under broiler just till bread begins to lightly brown.  Cut into wedges and serve with the hummus. You can serve this along with Greek olives, feta cheese, tabouli salad, peperoncinis and a light white wine...

many happy garlicky burps to you!

robert