My husband makes our own hummus because it is much cheaper than buying packaged hummus. My family did not eat hummus while I was growing up, but now it seems that everybody eats it and it is not an exotic food anymore. It is even one of my little babe's favorite foods, which is fantastic because it is a great source of protein for vegetarians. I love adding beets to my hummus to make it even more yummy and nutritious. I also tried adding sweet potatoes to one batch and it was great also.
(One Basic Recipe - 3 Types of Hummus - Sweet Potato, Garlic, and Beet)
The main ingredient in hummus is chickpeas, which are also known as garbanzo beans. You can buy them in a can pre-cooked or you can buy them dry and cook them yourself. Buying them dry is cheaper, but it takes longer to make the hummus. So the Super Easy Hummus recipe starts with a can of cooked chickpeas. All you have to do is add the ingredients below and puree in the blender. Since we use dried chickpeas, I can't tell you how much hummus you would get out of one can. The recipe that follows is for Easy Hummus:
1. Start with 1 1/4 cups of dried chickpeas. Soak them overnight in a bowl of cold water. The amount doesn't matter, just cover the chickpeas.
2. After at least 8 hours, drain the chickpeas.
3. In a medium sized stainless steel or enamelware pot, put 2 teaspoons of baking soda and all of the chickpeas. Cook that on medium for one minute. Add water so that the chickpeas are covered by at least one inch.
4. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling until the chickpeas are soft, which can be anywhere from 30-60 minutes. Some gross looking scum will appear on the top; you can just lift it off with a spoon.
5. When the chickpeas are soft, let them cool slightly and then put in the blender.
6. Add 1 tablespoon each of minced garlic, cumin and paprika. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Add 1 cup of tahini. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Puree until smooth. As the hummus is pureeing, add cold water until the hummus is smooth and looks almost runny. Don't worry, it will become much less runny once it cools down.
And that is it! Grab some bagel chips or homemade flatbread and dig in!
This recipe made 2 1/2 pint jars.
To make the beet and sweet potato hummus, simply wash and roast the beets and/or sweets until soft. When cooled, remove the skins and add to the mixture in the blender and puree until smooth.
