New Toy, and Some Hummus! (plus recipe)

Well, well, well. Several months ago, whilst in New Orleans with my BFF Heather for our annual Christmas lunch/shop/gelato-at-Sucre' trip, I finally decided to buy some tahini. I'd been wanting forEVER to make my own hummus, but never bought any tahini because #1 it comes in such large (for me) quantities, and #2 I didn't own a food processor. (My logic--if I make the hummus and it's no good, I've got alllll this tahini left over--now what?)

(And why make my own hummus when I can buy it at any grocery? Well because most store-bought hummus, at least any I've found, is horrendous compared to the real thing).

But--I found out just prior to our girls' day that you CAN, in fact, FREEZE tahini!!  So I went for it. That was back the middle of December. Today is June 2, and I JUST made some hummus. The main reason? I just now bought a food processor *grin*

I started out with a 3-cup food "chopper" and thought that would do the trick. It did, but it did not get the chickpeas all smooth and creamy, and gritty hummus, although tasty, just does not leave the palette very happy. So I took it back today and bought this baby...

 

10 cups of chopping/blending/pureeing/food processing goodness! (And for those of you looking very closely, no, I did not buy the Spanish version--though I'm sure it would work the same--I just didn't notice when I took the pic of the box that I had it facing on the Spanish-language side). So when I got it home a while ago, I washed it and put the hummus in there and gave it a good whirl. And oh boy did it get the grit out! Now I have yummy, creamy hummus.

And what did I do with all the extra tahini, you ask? Well I froze it, of course. In addition to the lovely Hamilton Beach food processor, I also bought a good ole Rubbermaid ice cube tray. As it turns out, each little cube will hold exactly 2 tablespoons of tahini!

And yes, that's the brand of tahini I used--Joyva. Got it at Whole Foods. (I am just full of product placement goodness today--think I'll get some free stuff??). What I had left over after I'd made my hummus last night turned out to be 24 tablespoons. Right now, it's in the freezer, and later on, I'll put each one in a little baggie, and put the little baggies in a bigger bag to keep in the freezer until I need them again.

the big chill

So here is the finished product. Granted, it's not a very beautiful picture, and it really does no justice to the taste of the hummus, but I'll show it to you anyway...

As for the recipe, I started with just your basic hummus recipe, found anywhere on the internet if you know how to Google. I then tweaked it a little for my own taste, and you can do the same if my recipe doesn't float your boat.

So here it is. My "Yummy Hummus" recipe:

Ingredients:
1 16 ounce can of chickpeas, liquid reserved
1/4 cup liquid from the chickpeas
juice from 1 1/2 large lemons (and I do mean large)--equals about 5-6 tbs
3 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed (whack 'em with the flat edge of a butcher knife)
about 1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Now, drain the chickpeas, being sure to save that liquid. You'll need it in a minute. Then in your food processor, put the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and the 1/4 cup of liquid from the chickpeas all together. Just throw them in, there's no special order or skill required. Put the lid on your food processor and hit the puree button. Keep it going for about 5 minutes, or until it's good and creamy. At this point, you can stick your finger in and taste-test it (be sure you turn the food processor off first or you've got a whole new set of problems) to see if you want to make any adjustments. When you've got it just the way you want it, put it in an air-tight container and chill for a bit. 

I enjoyed mine at lunch today with some little baby carrots and some cucumber sticks. Oh, and I put a little spoon-full of it in the couscous I had on the side (with my Greek-seasoned sauteed fish--I don't have a picture of all this to show you, but it was yummy and beautiful).

(P Allen Smith is on my TV right now talking about berries and wearing a hairnet. Odd.)

That's about it for today, I guess. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the hummus!