Every Friday, I have bible study at a relative's house. I also have my lunch there and everyone takes turn to cook a main course or bring a dessert. This Friday, I will be cooking and I have just made hummus dip and flatbread for starter. I am planning to cook Beef Tajine and thought this appetizer is a good start to a Middle Eastern theme lunch.
One of the key ingredient in hummus is Tahini. Tahini is an important part of the hummus recipe and cannot be substituted. However it can be omitted. Hummus gets some kick with lemon and garlic, and also with ground cumin, a traditional spice to add in hummus. This recipe uses canned chickpea.
This is not a traditionally made hummus but I like the creamy texture and taste in this recipe.
Smooth Hummus Dip
Created by Joanne and Adam Gallagher
Ingredients
425g chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon
1/4 cup tahini
half of a large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt, depending on taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 to 3 tablespoons water
Dash of ground paprika for serving
Method
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on process for 30 seconds. This extra time helps 'whip' or 'cream' the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.
- Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.
- Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor then process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick and quite smooth.
- Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpeas. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the consistency is perfect.
- Scrape the hummus into a bowl then drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with paprika.
Store hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.
As an appetizer and dip, hummus is scooped with flatbread, such as pita. Here, I made flatbread using Jamie Oliver's recipe.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lip; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8