This hummus recipe comes from my friend Shawna. She’s made it many times during our Sunday role-playing game, and it is delicious. It satisfies beefy guys like her husband, me, and our mutual friend Richard, all of whom are over 6’ tall and have a similar build. It’s great as a snack, but it can even serve as a meal if you dress it up enough.
Ingredients:
- 1 fat (or 2 small) cloves of garlic or 1/4 tsp garlic paste.
- 1 can rinsed garbanzo beans
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt or less to taste
- 1/8 tsp cumin
- 1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 a lemon’s juice (to consistency; just wetter than warm, runny peanut butter)
- 1/4 tsp tahini (sesame seed paste) or a splash of olive oil to taste
Directions:
- Using the food processor, chop the garlic well.
- Add the beans (we like S&W brand) and chop further, until the garlic is invisible and the mixture is mealy.
- Add the salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice. Stop the processor occasionally to scrape down the sides. Continue until the mixture is softer than dough.
- Taste it. Is it zippy enough? Be sure of the lemon before adding the tahini/olive oil because both are wet ingredients.
- Add the tahini or olive oil very slowly into the running processor until the consistency is about that of warm, runny peanut butter.
- Serve it with some chopped cherry tomatoes and good bread slices. Be sure to lick the spatula when no one is looking!
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Additional notes from Friend Shawna:
Consistency is key! I have eaten a lot of icky, runny hummus at restaurants… why!? For use on bread, “warm runny peanut butter” is just the right texture; for chips, just a little softer, but please, no soupy hummus.
If you are going to blend in soft solids like roasted bell pepper, mix them in gently by hand so they maintain their interest and dignity.
I use S&W exclusively because every brand seems to vary widely in salt content and I hate tinkering with the salt.
This recipe was engineered without tahini because I am allergic to it. Adding it in may require adjustment but I understand it is quite good; give it a try if you can find it.
Hummus is like spaghetti and everyone has a different idea about how to do it right. Since it’s so darn expensive at the deli, so cheap to make, and such a flexible dish, it’s worth playing around with until you have it the way you like.
