Sunday, July 6, 2014

99¢ Hummus

Good news!  I've fallen in love.  I know I kind of pledged my soul to that gourmet, roasted-carrot hummus I mentioned a few posts ago (and then again last post), but we broke up and now I have found my soul mate.  It's the hummus I made this afternoon.

By making it completely from scratch my inner control-freak was absolutely singing!  Nothing went in it that I didn't want!  This stuff is healthy, tasty, simple, and cheap cheap cheap.

Also, this stuff only cost me 99¢ per 8 oz.  Boom. 

This was adapted from Steve, who also embraced using dried chickpeas rather than the canned stuff, at The Black Peppercorn.

I started by soaking the chickpeas (Garbonzo beans) for two days--by accident.  I soaked them all day yesterday and then didn't get the chance to make the hummus, so I just swapped out the water and left them overnight.



Then I brought the chickpeas to boil in a pot with water, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Salt and a splash of baking soda.  Once boiling, I reduced the heat and simmered them for an hour.



Next, I drained the chickpeas and left them to cool to about room temperature.





I came back and put about 3 and 1/2 Cups of chickpeas into my little blender that I got for free, added one clove of garlic, 1 Tablespoon of Tahini, and the juice of half a lemon.  I also added about 1/2 Cup of water and about a Tablespoon of Olive Oil.



I only added one clove of garlic because recently, I have been over-garlic-ing.  It ended up being a good call!

TIP: If you don't feel like buying Tahini (I fought it for a long time), you can use toasted sesame seeds.  If you have a relatively nice blender or food processor, they will disappear leaving nothing but that touch of flavor.

I blended that stuff up until it was creamy with just a little chunky, rustic texture.



Then, I stirred in one teaspoon of mild Harissa.  This stuff adds such a great flavor and a beautiful pop of color!



Finally, I put the hummus into little containers and placed them in the fridge.  To tidy up, I licked clean every spoon, utensil, and even the blender pitcher as if I had just made cookie dough. 


This hummus is exactly what I needed to get through this week.  I can't wait to stuff it into my lunch-time wraps, to dollop it on top of dinner dishes, and to scoop it up with home-chopped carrot sticks for the next week.

TIP: As you make your hummus, keep tasting it!  You may want to add a dash of salt or a couple shakes of paprika instead of the Harissa.  Or you may want more lemon.  Or you might add too much garlic and need to toss in some more chickpeas to balance it out.  Just keep tasting, and you will end up with hummus that you want to cuddle with in bed because it so fresh and smooth.


XOXO,
R

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