Homemade Hummus

Snack time!  Seriously!  Lately at my new job we have not had enough coverage in my department, and I have been having to cover the shifts, which means no break and long hours.  Since there are always customers around and I am working with food, I can't just stop and grab something to eat - it doesn't look good.  So, I came home from work yesterday super hungry, and since it was Hubbs' day off he didn't want to cook, so I had to throw something together really quickly.  I was looking through my fridge and found some cooked chickpeas and immediately thought hummus!  It's been a while since I've made it - I usually make the recipe out of the Candle Cafe's cookbook  - it is delicious and perfect every time - with my modifications of course!  I was too lazy to do that though, so I just improved this recipe and it turned out really nicely.  The only thing I did was toss the chickpeas into a pot of boiling water briefly to heat them up - hummus is much much much better when it is made when the chickpeas are hot.  While they were heating, I put all of the other ingredients in the food processor.  Once the chickpeas drained, I added those to the processor and blended everything. 

I was feeling hungry and lazy, but you can be really creative with this recipe.  You can roast a pepper, skin it and add it to the mix.  Or roast a head of garlic, squeeze out the bulbs and add it.  Or roast a tomato with some garlic and herbs and add it to the mix.  Or add a ton of garlic, lemon, parsley and finely chopped carrots.  Or add some sour cream and dill!  Yum - seriously the possibilities are endless!  Try whichever one suits your fancy at that moment.  Even kalamata olives!  Or chipotle peppers!

Homemade Hummus:

Creamy, Tasty, Spicy Goodness (That's cayenne & olive oil on top!)

Yields: about 3 1/2 cups

3 cups cooked chickpeas, preferably still warm

1/4 cup tahini

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

3/4 teaspoon cumin

2 pinches cayenne

3/4 cup filtered water, or as needed



1.  Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, but leave 1/4 cup of water on the side in case you don't need it.  Pulse until the mixture is completely smooth and silky, adding more water as needed to achieve your desired consistency.  That's it!

2.  Eat immediately.  Serve with raw baby carrots, celery sticks, raw broccoli or cauliflower, or be bad and eat it with chips!

Enjoy!

-Koko