Home-made hummus is better than anything you buy in the store. Okay, now that I've made a couple people mad(sorry!) I'll tell you why, with a few(well, just one--see #2) caveats:
1. You control the ingredients, and you're not likely to find any anti-fungal, chemical preservatives in home-made hummus. Those added chemicals are, well....not food. They taste chemical-ish, and add a funky after-taste that you won't like once you start making it yourself.
2. It's not fresh. It's not fresh. It's not fresh. (unless they made it, that morning, in their kitchens there at Fresh Market/Whole Foods/etc.) It's more probable that you'll find wonderful, fresh, amazing hummus at your locally-owned, family-operated Greek or Lebanese restaurant. If you have to buy it, buy it from them in bulk. It'll last you all week, it'll taste amazing, and it's usually a GREAT price. :) Just ask them...and tell Nidal that I sent you.
3. It's CHEAPER. Yes, this is a shameless frugalista admitting that when I'm tied to a strict budget and have to bring food to feed lots of people, I want it to be special, but I don't want to feed them better than I feed my husband on Friday night, if you know what I mean.
Okay, okay, here's the recipe:
Adjust the amounts according to your family's taste, which means lots of finger-dipping and tasting at the end!!! :) (just use a clean finger each time, okay? okay!)
1 bag dry chickpeas(also called garbanzo beans)
1 med.-lg. head of garlic
1/3 cup GOOD lemon juice(Volcano juice at Cosco--best ever!)
1/3-1/2 cup tahini(sesame seed butter--and sesame seeds should be the only ingredient)
kosher salt, to taste.
Cook dry beans until soft and buttery-tasting. Use an acid and a fat in the cooking water for a nice texture bean--I use leftover bottom-of-the-bottle week-old red wine(about 1-2 TBsp) and a couple tablespoons butter. Don't use margarine, it's not an animal fat and won't have the desired effect. And it's not real food!
Place peeled garlic cloves in bottom of bowl of food processor with tahini and lemon juice and drained cooked beans, still warm if possible(the flavors will blend more smoothly). Toss in a teaspoon of kosher salt to start, and blend away. Go brew a pitcher of black tea(Luzianne, of course) to make Lebanese iced tea while you let the blender go, go, go.
Taste and add more salt as needed, and more reserved chickpea liquid or lemon juice as needed to acheive an almost-pourable, very creamy consistency.
To serve: Place in a platter with slightly up-turned sides, drizzle liberally with good olive oil, and top with crumbled feta and a couple Kalamata olives, or chopped parsley, or tomatoes, or all of the above as one of my dear friends does! :) My husband likes things simple, and I usually never have all of those garnishes in my fridge at the same time. Frugal means that I run out of those types of ingredients at times...but I'm always grateful for what we do have, and we NEVER go hungry(thanks to my wonderful providing husband).
**This hummus has lasted a week in my fridge. Once. When I was gone and left a huge amount for my husband(who wasn't so hungry without us....). We typically eat it within a couple of days, but you can definitely keep it even longer....with all the garlic and salt, and a layer of olive oil over it, it is preserved beautifully when refrigerated!
