HOMEMADE HUMMUS

By Cindy Hardin

Hummus is a great staple to have on hand. It can be used as a dip with chips, makes a great vegetarian spread with toast, especially when topped with a juicy sliced tomato, or even as an entrée when paired with rice.

Alas, most prepared hummus is packaged in plastic, and often has added preservatives. Homemade hummus is easy and quick, and can be modified to your own particular tastes.

You will need:

A blender

1 15.5 oz. can of garbanzo beans

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

¼ cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

¼ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. Tahini-in interest of keeping less plastic in your pantry, Trader Joe’s sells Tahini in glass jars!

Drain the garbanzo beans if you prefer a thicker hummus. I usually include the liquid that is in the can with the beans.

Place all of the ingredients in the blender and whirl until smooth. You can also play around with the ingredients a bit-less garlic, more lemon juice, etc. depending upon your preference. Store in refrigerator in a glass container. Will keep for up to a week.

You can vary the amounts of the lemon juice, garlic and salt to taste. This version is pretty lemony and garlicky!

If desired, when serving make an indentation in the middle of the hummus, fill with a little olive oil and sprinkle paprika or smoked paprika around the perimeter of the pool of oil. Looks pretty and punches up the flavor a bit.

About glass containers: I use a variety of glass vessels to store things. You can reuse jars that contained things like the Trader Joe’s Tahini, mentioned above. I also buy Mason Jars occasionally, and glass storage containers with nifty locking lids are also available at kitchen supply stores. Just make sure they are well cleaned out after their use, either by running them through the dishwasher or filling them with near boiling water.