Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Hummus among us....

Greetings Hummus fans! Here are two other hummus recipes to try if you get tired of the original.



Edamame hummus:



2 15 cans of garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed (you can make your own fresh, but I can't tell a difference and canned is a big time saver)

1/4 C Tahini (toasted sesame butter, usually you can find it near the peanut butter)

zest and juice of one lemon

3 cloves garlic to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin Olive oil

  1. Fill a medium sauce pot with water and bring to a boil. Carefully add frozen edamame to boiling water and cook following the directions on the bag.
  2. While you cook the edamame, place tahini, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and drained garbanzo beans in a food processor with the blade attachment.
  3. When the edamame are tender remove from heat and use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the edamame from the water and transfer them to the food processor. Reserve the cooking liquid for later.
  4. Puree all ingredients in food processor and make sure to periodically scrape the sides. Season with salt and pepper to your personal taste, but remember that when it's cool/cold, you'll notice the saltiness less.
  5. At this point add the reserved edamame cooking liquid and Extra virgin olive oil to adjust the consistency to your desired thickness. When the hummus cools, it slightly thickens, so I usually make it a little looser than I think It should be. Use your own taste and preference here.
  6. Puree some more. I have found that even with a powerful and sharp food processor this can take some time to achieve the smooth texture of a nice hummus. So expect some serious pureeing and stop when it's the texture that you like.
  7. Check the seasoning and consistency one last time. Add more salt, pepper, tahini, or cooking liquid as you like or need and puree some more.
  8. This recipe usually makes enough for me to fill up three 2 cup plastic tubs and it easily freezes with nice results.

Red Pepper Hummus:

Follow the same ingredients and directions as the edamame hummus but omit the edamame and instead add on 12 jar of fire roasted red bell peppers that have had their juices strained. This one is actually even easier since you don't have to cook anything. Just put everything in the processor and go for it.

Don't forget that hummus is personal and forgiving so play around with the amounts. If you like it garlicky use more and always use fresh when you can. Add or subtract the tahini if you like the tang. You get the picture.

Both hummus' make a healthy dip for vegetables. We like to use zucchinis, broccoli, snap peas and bell peppers.

Get some pitas or naan bread and dip that stuff too. The hummus is even good with blue corn tortilla chips. I found that out when I ran out of pitas ;-).

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