My Hummus recipe

I have enough people that ask me for this on a regular basis that I figured it was worth posting here in order to save myself some time.

I admit that I pride myself a little bit on this recipe, only because I've perfected it, however 1 aspect of it I have not and I was told recently by a very close chef friend that its because I don't have a super highpowered food processor. I have a decent one that I paid about $60 for at a kitchen supply place a few years ago, and it does an ok job, but really to get the super creamy texture you find in restaurants and in prepacking in stores you need one of those better restaurant grade ones. Never the less you can still get a decent texture with this recipe, its just going to take a little longer.

With that said enjoy my 4 step process Hummus recipe below. I make it at least once a week (more if time allows, my hubby is addicted to it).



Hummus
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(this recipe uses 3 cans of chick peas so it is a larger batch, see storage/refridgeration info below)



This is a 4 step process. You must follow this process to get the desired outcome, otherwise your hummus will be chunky thick and hard to swallow.



step 1. THE STARTER

in a decent food processor cream together 1/2 C of Tahini and 3/4 C of lemon juice (you can use bottled or fresh, I prefer bottled for taste and simplicity)

whip until frothy (at least 1 minute, will become a liquidy substance and will lighten in color)

Step 2. THE TASTE

add in fresh garlic cloves. If you want a mild garlic flavor add in 2 large cloves. If you want a decent but not overpowering garlic flavor add in 3-4 large cloves. If you really like garlic, add in 5 large cloves. (you can chop a little first to help the processor out)

mix in processor well (30-60 seconds)


Add in 3 cans of drained chickpeas (garbanzo). I prefer the organic canned but even the cheapie off brands work just fine.

blend for 3 seconds. At this point it will be very chunky still but taste it anyway, ignore the texture, what you want is taste...is there enough garlic and lemon for your taste? For me I usually add in about another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice because I prefer mine tangy, ...its all a matter of preference. If you decide you want more add in a little bit, process, TASTE. If it needs more, REPEAT, if your flavor is exactly what you want go onto next step.

Step 3. TEXTURE

once you have your flavors the way you want, its time to process the heck out of your mixture. Get the food processor started on low/medium...add in a few tablespoons of water at a time until it starts to break up and thin out some (don't add too much as you will be adding in olive oil at the end and you don't want it runny...) BEAT THE HECK OUT OF IT LOL! I usually stand there for a good 5-7 minutes and once I get it think out almost enough (remember not all the way) I turn it up as high as my processor will go and let it whip, and whip and whip. You can stop it, stir/scrap sides and continue too to make sure its all incorperated, but you get the idea.

Once you've reached the texture you want (remember that it will still be a bit chunky unless you have a rockstar high end processor)...move onto step 4.


Step 4 THE FINISH

at the end for about 20-30 seconds tops you can stream in olive oil on low. I do about 1/4 Cup or a little more for a recipe of this size. You don't want to whip the olive oil as it can turn bitter tasting if you do. This will also thin the mixture out a little bit more and it will make it slightly creamier as well.

Thats it...ALL DONE!! :)


Storage: eat within 3-5 days in refridgerator or i've been told you can freeze this up to a month, however I've never tried it only because I have 10 people I feed and they eat this up in about 2 days max (or less).


I serve with Lemon pepper pan chicken and sauteed pine nuts...YUM!

gluten free, low fat, HEALTHY and delicious, my kids LOVE it and my husband horrdes it :)

Good luck and if you have any questions or run into problems with anything above feel free to send me a message ;)

.*~ ENJOY ~*.