Worn Slap Out

Homemade Hummus

by 1 Comment

When we first started dating, John tried really hard to woo my roommate at the time, who didn’t care much for a third, frequent visitor in our small apartment in Bloomingdale.  He’d try to butter her up, strike up a friendly conversation here and there about the perils of teaching in the city, and on Mondays, he’d bring over dinner from Moby Dick for all of us to share.  Oh, and he also pretended to tolerate The Bachelor.  So here we were, sitting on the futon eating spoonfuls of that hummus while watching desperate women get even more desperate by the minute.  John’s hummus and chicken kabob ways didn’t quite work with the roomie, but he got an “A” for effort (and clearly it worked on me).

img_0009-1

The hummus from Moby Dick is so perfectly creamy and garlicky that I could just eat it with their pita bread and be satisfied for dinner.  Store bought hummus just doesn’t cut it for me.  They’re always too thick or lack in the flavor department.  And the homemade hummuses that require you to soak dried chickpeas overnight?  Ain’t nobody got time for that.  And to be quite honest, it really doesn’t make that much of a difference, in my opinion.  This homemade hummus is creamy, garlicky, with a hint of a kick from cayenne.  It’s as close to Moby Dick as I can possibly get.

img_0031-1

One of the keys here is to reserve some of the chickpea liquid when you’re draining them.  That flavorful liquid will make the hummus that much creamier when you’re processing everything together.

 

img_0021

And can we talk about all the delicious vegetables that are a perfect match with hummus?  My favorite place in the world to people watch (the Delano pool in South Beach, or course!) has a hummus and vegetable plate on their pool menu that’s to die for.  It’s nothing special, but the veggies are perfectly crisp and served on a bed of ice making you feel all fancy and healthy.  Plus, they have allllll the good stuff: radishes, carrots, celery, endives, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli…ugh!  So simple and perfect for the pool.

img_1874

Here’s to many more pool weather days…complete with veggies on ice!
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) — save the liquid!
  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • dash of garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling on the finished product
  • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley (optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika (optional)

Serve with:

  • Pita chips
  • pita bread
  • pretzels
  • carrots
  • celery
  • Cucumber
  • Red bell pepper

Directions

  1. While draining chickpeas, reserve about 1/4 cup of chickpea liquid.  Spread rest of chickpeas out on a paper towel and dry them.  Remove any chickpea shells that may be hiding.
  2. Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a food processor.  Process on high until well mixed.
  3. While processor is running, slowly add the olive oil one teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.  You want your hummus to hold its shape but not be chunky.
  4. Serve with extra olive oil, paprika, and whatever other accoutrements you prefer!

 

This will keep for about a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!
xoxx

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: