Recipe A Day #10: Laura’s Secret Hummus

This really should have been added to Casual Kitchen's popular and well-Googled Blogroll of Hummus recipes, but the truth is, she hadn't perfected it quite yet back when I first ran that post.

Another thing. Today's recipe is another reminder of how much value you can get when you make something 100 times. You learn a recipe by heart and you learn to make it with flair and with love. And so, Laura offers you this recipe from her heart to yours.

Laura's Secret Hummus

Ingredients:
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained but with all liquid reserved (see below)
5 Tablespoons lemon juice
4 Tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
A small onion, or a half of a medium onion (about 1/3 cup onion, roughly chopped)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:
1) Drain both cans of chickpeas but reserve all the liquid. In a food processor, puree one can of chickpeas with the tahini paste for 20 seconds. Add the garlic cloves and ⅓ cup onion and puree very well, for 2 minutes.

2) Add second can of drained chickpeas and puree again until very well blended, about 2-3 minutes.

3) Add the reserved liquid, a few Tablespoons at a time, pureeing briefly, and then taste-test for desired texture. When you’re happy with the texture, you can discard any remaining liquid. Add spices, puree another minute, taste-test again, and adjust spicing to taste.

4) Put hummus into a bowl and make a small well in the center of the hummus. Pour a splash of olive oil into the well, garnish with a few shakes of paprika, and serve with crackers, carrots, celery or other fresh veggies of your choosing.

Serves 6.

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Recipe notes:
1) Careful with the garlic! We love our hummus as garlicky as possible, but normal humans would be prudent to try 1-2 cloves the first time they make this recipe and adjust to taste thereafter. Raw garlic can be surprisingly strong.

2) Note the role of the onion as a hummus "lightener," making it extra light and fluffy.

3) Chickpea liquid: A critical factor of this recipe to get the texture just right. If you use plain water, your hummus will tend to separate. Olive oil is an optional alternative but it can make the hummus overly greasy. The chickpea liquid is ideal for proper texture, flavor and stability.

4) Don't double dip!


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