There's Hummus, and Then There's Hummus

Here are a couple of Hummus Recipes that Rambonie posted on his blog, Iron Newman , today. Hummus is a delicious and healthy snack, and I often eat it as the main protein in my lunch. I dip veggies when I'm trying cut down on the bread products.


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Basic Hummus

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
• 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

This is very similar to my recipe but I can't eat raw garlic so I often just omit the garlic altogether which I'm sure would make some purists freak out. However, I've was thinking that a roasted garlic hummus might be kind of nice. Anyone have a good recipe?

Also, a note - you can use a little peanut butter if you don't have any tahini in the house (which I often don't).

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Rambonie also posted this interesting looking recipe. I'm almost afraid to try it but it does sound kind of good.

Pumpkin Hummus

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) can garbanzo beans 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree juice of one lemon 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup tahini paste

1 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice salt to taste

Drain the garbanzo beans, reserving the liquid. Place the beans and 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid into a blender, and puree until a smooth paste forms. Add the pumpkin puree, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Cover and puree again until smooth. Use additional cooking liquid as needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt.

He later told me he thought the Pumpkin Hummus wasn't that great, and thought it was too garlicky. He said he thinks "the next batch will come out better, a little less spicy, a little sweeter and more pumpkinier."

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I'd love to find a good recipe for 60 Peppercorn Hummus that I buy at the grocery store. Yummy. I've thought about just throwing a bunch of cracked pepper into my home made hummus but I haven't tried it yet.

Update: Maybe this one for Peppercorn Hummus?

http://www.aviawest.com/owner_news/2006/January/recipe.html

or this one for Roasted Garlic Hummus?

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=202343

I'll let you know after I've tried them.