ultra creamy hummus

There are thousands of recipes out there for hummus. I realize this, and the recipe below is nothing earth shattering.

And the method might not be new to you, but it's the method below that produces an ultra creamy, silky hummus.

What's the secret?

Let me tell you what its not first - you don't have to spend hours peeling the skin off of all the chickpeas.  That is just crazy. Believe me, I've been there before and am not going back.

Are you ready for it? You might want to have a seat, as this is earth shattering.

Leave your beloved food processor in the pantry and pull our your raggedy blender that you've had since college and cost a mere $15.

Believe me, it was hard passing up my food processor, but wanted to give thee old blender a try when whipping up a staple food item in the PS house.

Ultra Creamy Hummus




In the mix::

• 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (reserve liquid)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic (I used one, but love garlic, so would use two next time)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1 T olive oil
• Salt to taste (about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon)
• 7-9 tablespoons of chickpea water (or just water)
• Kalamata olives, optional

Process::

Put chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and 5 tablespoons of the chickpea water into the blender. Blend on low until everything comes together. Be patient, you will have to scrape down the sides often. Begin adding more water, 1 tablespoon at at time, until you have a silky smooth hummus. Season with salt and blend to combine.

To serve, top the hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and a few chopped kalamata olives. Pita bread and veggies are good choices to serve with this silky hummus. My favorite though, is a spoon.



Can you imagine how silky smooth this would be if I owned a $500+ VitaMix? That might just be the death of me.

Like I said, this is not a crazy new recipe for hummus, but if you want homemade hummus that even comes close to the delicious dip that you get at your favorite Mediterranean restaurant, ditch the food processor and give your blender a try.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with Pitas

Delish!  This is the first time I have actually made it, and think that I will continue to do so instead of buying the stuff from the store.  1 - saves a ton of money. 2 - tastes much better!

Hummus 

2 cans chickpeas - drained

1/4 cup tahini 

2 cloves garlic

5 T water

dash of salt

1/2 t cumin

5-10 strips of jarred roasted red peppers

1 T lemon juice

Blend in blender or food processer until relativley smooth, add more water if needed.  

Add:

1 T olive oil (and any cumin, tahini or salt to taste)

Pulse 3-5 more times and Enjoy!

Serve with homemade pitas:

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t instant yeast

1 T honey

1 T vegatable oil

1/3 - 1/2 cup water

Add first 5 ingredients in mixer and add just enough water to bring everything together into a ball (may not need the full 1/2 cup water).  Using the dough hook, knead for 5 minutes (or knead by hand for 10 minutes on a slightly floured surface).  Transfer to a greased bowl and let rise for 90 minutes.

Shape dough into 6-8 rounds to the thickness of your choosing.  Sprinkle tops with caraway, poppy and seasame seeds.  Let rise another hour or so.  

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, until golden brown.  (These are not 'pocket pitas', more like a flat bread)

(Hummus recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Classic Hummus recipe, Pita recipe adapted from the Bread Baker's Apprentice - Lavash Crackers)