Easy Hummus

This is a simple, basic hummus recipe I found in a recently acquired cookbook called Boy Eats World by David Lawrence, a private chef and caterer in the LA area. My mother-in-law gave me the book after she told me about David, who happens to be one of Steve’s cousins. After reading the preface of his book, I realized that we have very similar food and cooking philosophies.

Anyway . . .Back to the hummus. We’ve become big hummus eaters around here. I guess anyone who’s anyone eats hummus at school, so Steve takes it quite often to snack on. Sophie and I both like it, too, and it’s a great source of protein, it’s great all around. Except I can’t get Sophie to eat carrots dipped in it. She just eats corn chips. Baby steps, I guess. You can dip all kinds of things in this, like other vegetables (cucumbers, bell pepper strips, cauliflower, broccoli), or pita bread, crusty bread, garlic bread (I’m missing bread, can you tell?).

This hummus is great as is, but I think it has the potential to be “spruced” up by adding other things like sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, fresh herbs, nuts, etc. I haven’t played around with it yet, but if you end up with something great, please let me know! :)

Easy Hummus

Ingredients:

2 15-oz cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and well-rinsed
1/3 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 T tahini, well stirred
4 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of cayenne, or more if you want it spicy
salt, to taste
1/4 c olive oil, plus more for drizzling
garnish of your choice (David recommends fresh pomegranate seeds, which is traditional in Lebanon, or toasted pine nuts.)

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients plus 1/4 cup water in the bowl of a food processor. Buzz it up until it's smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil and your choice of garnish.

Nat's Notes:
1. I used 4 cloves of garlic in this the first time I made it and found it too garlicky. (Steve liked it that way.)
2. Tahini is a paste made from toasted sesame seeds and has almost the consistency of peanut butter. You should be able to find it in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store. It adds a distinct flavor to hummus that you can't get otherwise.

adapted from Boy Eats World by David Lawrence

30 Minutes and Under, Appetizers, Gluten-Free, Middle Eastern, Vegetarian

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