Susan's Recipes

Hummus

Hummus is a middle eastern dip.

1 cup dried chickpeas (or use canned chickpeas - I use S&W low sodium brand)
1 small onion
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic ( I use more, but I like garlic)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
1 - 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Paprika and ground cumin for garnish
Pita bread, crackers, or chips: something to scoop up the dip (fresh veggies work, too)

If you're starting with the chickpeas from scratch, soak them overnight in abundant water. Drain the water, put the beans and the onion (take off the onion paper) into a pot. Add cold water with at least an inch over the bean level. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until done. Probably an hour or an hour and one-half. It will depend on how old the beans are. When the beans are tender, drain off the liquid. Throw away the onion. You could save the bean juice for use in soup and you might want to reserve a few tablespoons to thin the hummus if it's too thick. If you skipped "GO" and are using canned garbanzos, drain them and rinse well with cold water. Save a bit of the bean juice.
Take out your handy food processor. Toss in the garlic, tahini, lemon juice and process until the mix turns whitish. Add the beans and process until you have a smooth paste.
Turn this out onto a low bowl or plate. Make an indentation in the middle of the hummus. Pour the olive oil in the indentation. Sprinkle the hummus with paprika, cumin. Eat up. Of course, you may add salt to taste. Do this while you have the hummus in the food processor. NEVER salt beans when cooking them - it toughens them.
Tahini is sesame seed butter. I have seen it on the shelves of Safeway. If your local grocer doesn't have it, try a middle eastern, Asian, or Indian grocery store. Health food stores will carry it as well. With canned garbanzo beans, hummus is the easiest thing to whip up. Great stuff.

Chill.
Serve cold.