Hummus

Chickpeas are my go-to food – nutritious & delicious.  I’ll throw them in a salad, add them to stew or a soup in the last 5 minutes of cooking, serve them as a dip and of course I use them in bean salads.

Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans and are high in protein and dietary fibre. They are supposed to be good for you because they contain a variety of nutrients, but they are just plain delicious.  Costco makes a very good red pepper hummus but we love to make it ourselves. 
You can buy canned or dried chickpeas.  Cans are easier, but dried chickpeas are much cheaper and you can control how long you cook them for the perfect consistency of hummus.

Since I don’t really use a recipe for hummus, I looked one up in Canadian Living Magazine which I include here.  I believe that hummus needs to be tasted and adjusted. Paul loves to help with that part and I often find myself with a glass of wine in the role of spectator. 

The basic ingredients:  olive oil, cumin, garlic, tahini, lemon and, in the summer, fresh parsley from the garden.

Paul’s a bit of a purist when it comes to hummus, so he starts with the dried peas, but this recipe is for the canned variety. If you want to start from scratch, the instructions are here.

1 can (19 oz/540 mL) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup (50 mL) lemon juice
1/4 cup (50 mL) olive oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) tahini
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste (optional)


It’s pretty easy to make.  Put everything into the food processor and pulse until it is smooth.  If you need to add a bit of cold water for a thinner consistency, go ahead.
Now taste the hummus.  Do you need more lemon? more spice? more tahini? You know what you like and here's the chance to make it perfect.
Some recipes say that you should use vegetable oil, but I always prefer olive oil.