Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Hummus from the Blender's cheap cheap cheap

I was seven years old at my hippie Sunday School teacher's house when I first tried hummus. It was Passover and I wore a pink dress my mom had made me. Lace bordered the top collar and I worried the strange dip would drip from the warm pita onto my lap.
While it wasn't love-at-first-bite, hummus is now found at most of the parties I host- and its become a staple for many folks wanting a low fat, protein snack. I love it with lots of garlic and lemon. 

Buy it at the store and a small 1 cup container will set you back $3-4. I can make 4 cups for the same price. Here's my recipe:






In a blender or food processor put*:
- 2-4 T of lemon juice (fresh or concentrate)
- 2-4 t of garlic
- 1/4 C of tahini (ground sesame seeds) found cheap at the Italian Centre or Superstore. Substitute peanut butter for an interesting variation. 
-1- 2 cans of undrained chickpeas. Substitute black beans for a nice and unique alternative
-1- 2 t of cumin

*I find that if I put the liquid ingredients in first, the blender has a much easier time blending the beans.


Blend everything until smooth. Add lemon juice, oil or water if it's too thick to blend. Add another can of beans if it's too liquidy. Taste and add flavour - cumin, garlic, lemon juice- as you like it. I sometimes will add curry powder or onion powder. Roasted red pepper is also a nice variation.







Serve drizzled with olive oil and a couple shakes of paprika. When its the season for parsley or coriander, I'll often chop these up and sprinkle on top; if you want it more liberally flavoured, mix it in.

Beautiful, isn't it? 



6 comments:

Ashley @ Root And Twig said...

How long do you keep this in the fridge? Can it be frozen, if you won't eat it all up at once?

Ruth said...

Very beautiful. I always wish Jeff could eat it, but I will just make it during the day when he is at work. Thanks for the recipe!

Carissa Halton said...

Yeah-- a litre sounds like a lot! I usually only make about 2 cups at a time (one can!). The most I've ever made was probably 15 cups of it for my brother's wedding, poor blender!

It'll keep for at least a couple weeks.

kerry said...

I've seared grocery stores for tahini in the past. I live in alberta ave - please tell me where in the store to look for it - I've asked staff and they don't know. Thanks SO MUCH For the help!

Carissa Halton said...

Hey Kerry Lyn- the cheapest, closest place is at the Italian Centre on 95 St and 109 Ave. You'll find multiple sizes of it south of the cans of beans (as far as I can remember!)

kerry said...

Thanks! I'll head there this weekend.