hum·mus/ˈho͝oməs/
| Noun: |
|
Hummus is not only simple and delicious, but it is a pretty damn healthy food. Yes it is a little high in fat - (healthy monounsaturated fats that lower LDL cholesterol), but this can be controlled by moderation or by adding less to your hummus. A cup of hummus also contains 60% of your daily fiber, 1/3 of your daily iron and 20g of protein. It also contains folate, vitamin B6 and is a complete protein when eaten with bread. Hummus (the ingredient tahini specifically) also contains one of the 9 essential amino acids methionine which help to prevent heart disease and stroke and also assists in detoxification of the liver.
OK, enough nutrition blah blah. The stuff tastes amazing, it's creamy, savory and tart and it allows for a lot of creativity which I totally dig. So many flavors can be created and so many foods taste great dipped in it.
INGREDIENTS:
Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas
These usually come most commonly in 2 ways: dried or canned. I prefer mine dried and I cook them myself. I find that canned are not cooked to a doneness that I like, and it does not give me the creamy texture I prefer without peeling every single bean of its skin, (I'll explain that later). Also, canned beans contain salt - which I prefer to control in my foods myself, and sometimes other preservatives which I would like to avoid all together.
If you cook your own beans soaking them overnight will shorten the cooking time. Use the same water to cook the beans and in your hummus recipe. I have seen different opinions everywhere about adding baking soda to beans as they soak...some say do it, some say dont. I tried it once and found that the beans were a little more tender, but tasted a little more minerally. The biggest argument for the nay sayers is that the soda can leach some of its nutritional value. Hmmm...
Garlic
Fresh is best. Roasting it is amazing but requires more since it's flavors are more mellow. If you use powder you are selling yourself short in the flavor department and will not get the same fresh zippy flavor or it's oils on your palate.
Olive Oil
This oil is traditionally used and contributes to its flavor. Substitute it with grapeseed or canola if you must.
Lemon
I love the acidity lemon brings to hummus. If you forget to add the juice of a lemon to your hummus and doing so will make it too runny, go ahead and zest it instead to give it zing.
Tahini
Tahini is a sesame seed paste. I sometimes use it and I sometimes don't. It's like peanut butter with a thinner texture. It is offered in powdered form too, but I have only seed it fresh and jarred. The taste is nutty, earthy, bitter, gritty and astringent on it's own (in my opinion), but adds another level of flavor and nutrition to your hummus. Flavors and consistency slightly vary from brand to brand. Try making your hummus with and without it, and see what you prefer.
Putting it together
Grab your food processor and toss in the following:
4 cloves of garlic
The juice of 1 lemon
2 ts of kosher salt - if using table salt start with 1 ts and adjust to your taste
Pulse this to get your garlic chopped a bit then add:
4 cups of garbanzo beans
1/2 cup of cooking liquid or water or bean broth from the can
1/2 cup of tahini (optional but use more cooking liquid to add missing moisture)
Turn on processor till smooth.
Taste it.
This is your hummus so play with it. Add more lemon if you want acidity, chop more garlic for zesty spice, add olive oil to the processor for a more savory oily texture.
Once you have your hummus tasting how you prefer, put it in a bowl and top it with olive oil and some parsley and paprika if you want to look fancy.
Peeling the beans as mentioned earlier...
I noticed one day that the skins on the outside of my chickpeas were a bit course and contributed a lot to the texture of my hummus. I actually experimented with peeling an entire batch of beans (no joke)and made hummus with them. This took FOR-EVE-RRR.. but, it was thee creamiest hummus I have tasted in my life. So now I curb the creamy hummus-driven tweeker within by just rolling half of the batch in my hands and picking out what comes off... I promise myself not to spend more than 5 minutes doing this. Do it or don't, another thing for you to play with.
Making different flavors was my last experiment. Here are the flavors I came up with which were pretty much determined by what I had on hand.
From the top left: Traditional, Jalapeno, Lemon Herb, Roasted Red Pepper and Salsa.
My Favorites in order were Roasted Red Pepper, Jalapeno, then Lemon Herb. Tahini was not added to these batches.
Traditional: Basic recipe with parsley added
Jalapeno: Pulse in a roasted or fresh jalepeno or two, or one of each.
Lemon Herb: Basil, dill, parsley and lemon zest pulsed in - no garlic
Roasted Red Pepper: Two fresh roasted red peppers seeded and pulsed, bean broth decreased by about a 1/8 cup
Salsa: 1 cup of salsa added - no lemon and adjust bean broth at the end.
OK, i'm hummus-ed out...... now go make some already!
OK, enough nutrition blah blah. The stuff tastes amazing, it's creamy, savory and tart and it allows for a lot of creativity which I totally dig. So many flavors can be created and so many foods taste great dipped in it.
INGREDIENTS:
Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas
These usually come most commonly in 2 ways: dried or canned. I prefer mine dried and I cook them myself. I find that canned are not cooked to a doneness that I like, and it does not give me the creamy texture I prefer without peeling every single bean of its skin, (I'll explain that later). Also, canned beans contain salt - which I prefer to control in my foods myself, and sometimes other preservatives which I would like to avoid all together.
If you cook your own beans soaking them overnight will shorten the cooking time. Use the same water to cook the beans and in your hummus recipe. I have seen different opinions everywhere about adding baking soda to beans as they soak...some say do it, some say dont. I tried it once and found that the beans were a little more tender, but tasted a little more minerally. The biggest argument for the nay sayers is that the soda can leach some of its nutritional value. Hmmm...
Garlic
Fresh is best. Roasting it is amazing but requires more since it's flavors are more mellow. If you use powder you are selling yourself short in the flavor department and will not get the same fresh zippy flavor or it's oils on your palate.
Olive Oil
This oil is traditionally used and contributes to its flavor. Substitute it with grapeseed or canola if you must.
Lemon
I love the acidity lemon brings to hummus. If you forget to add the juice of a lemon to your hummus and doing so will make it too runny, go ahead and zest it instead to give it zing.
Tahini
Tahini is a sesame seed paste. I sometimes use it and I sometimes don't. It's like peanut butter with a thinner texture. It is offered in powdered form too, but I have only seed it fresh and jarred. The taste is nutty, earthy, bitter, gritty and astringent on it's own (in my opinion), but adds another level of flavor and nutrition to your hummus. Flavors and consistency slightly vary from brand to brand. Try making your hummus with and without it, and see what you prefer.
Putting it together
Grab your food processor and toss in the following:
4 cloves of garlic
The juice of 1 lemon
2 ts of kosher salt - if using table salt start with 1 ts and adjust to your taste
Pulse this to get your garlic chopped a bit then add:
4 cups of garbanzo beans
1/2 cup of cooking liquid or water or bean broth from the can
1/2 cup of tahini (optional but use more cooking liquid to add missing moisture)
Turn on processor till smooth.
Taste it.
This is your hummus so play with it. Add more lemon if you want acidity, chop more garlic for zesty spice, add olive oil to the processor for a more savory oily texture.
Once you have your hummus tasting how you prefer, put it in a bowl and top it with olive oil and some parsley and paprika if you want to look fancy.
Peeling the beans as mentioned earlier...
I noticed one day that the skins on the outside of my chickpeas were a bit course and contributed a lot to the texture of my hummus. I actually experimented with peeling an entire batch of beans (no joke)and made hummus with them. This took FOR-EVE-RRR.. but, it was thee creamiest hummus I have tasted in my life. So now I curb the creamy hummus-driven tweeker within by just rolling half of the batch in my hands and picking out what comes off... I promise myself not to spend more than 5 minutes doing this. Do it or don't, another thing for you to play with.
Making different flavors was my last experiment. Here are the flavors I came up with which were pretty much determined by what I had on hand.
From the top left: Traditional, Jalapeno, Lemon Herb, Roasted Red Pepper and Salsa.
My Favorites in order were Roasted Red Pepper, Jalapeno, then Lemon Herb. Tahini was not added to these batches.
Traditional: Basic recipe with parsley added
Jalapeno: Pulse in a roasted or fresh jalepeno or two, or one of each.
Lemon Herb: Basil, dill, parsley and lemon zest pulsed in - no garlic
Roasted Red Pepper: Two fresh roasted red peppers seeded and pulsed, bean broth decreased by about a 1/8 cup
Salsa: 1 cup of salsa added - no lemon and adjust bean broth at the end.
OK, i'm hummus-ed out...... now go make some already!
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