Hummus

R3A2 Hummus
 from The South Beach Diet

1.  A DAY OR TWO BEFORE if you think of it, open your can of
       sesame tahini
to see if the oil has separated.  If it has, stir gently until reincorporated.  I use Joyva brand tahini which comes in 15 oz. cans.  Unless the can has been used very recently, the oil will be floating on top of very dense sesame paste.  Stirring is difficult, time-consuming and requires care: the oil splashes out if you stir too vigorously.  With a full can, I have spent maybe 45 minutes or more on this step. I start by chipping away at the hummus with a table knife, then stir with a wooden spoon.  When I make the whole recipe a day or two before - which is a good idea because the hummus tastes better after it has been refrigerated for at least a few hours - then I do all the steps at the same time.

2.  Drain into a measuring cup the liquid from
          1 can (15 oz.) chick peas

3.  Cut up coarsely and add to Cuisinart (with chopping blade installed)
          4 oz. (about 1/2 medium) yellow onion
          3 cloves garlic (or less)

4.  Squeeze and measure, then add to the Cuisinart
          about 1/3 lemon to make 2 T.  juice
If you don't have a fresh lemon, 2 T. bottled lemon juice is fine.

5.  Add also to the Cuisinart
          1/2 cup of that well-stirred TAHINI
          the drained CHICK PEAS (but not the liquid)
          2 tsps olive oil
          2 tsps cumin
          1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
The original recipe called for ground red pepper, but I like to use up the packets of red pepper flakes the pizza people always put in the paper bag with the napkins and extra parmesan.

6.  Add to taste, unless like me you think the canned chick peas are salty enough,
            1/2 tsp salt (optional)

7.  Pulse the cuisinart until everything is blended.  To reach the consistency you want, continue to pulse, adding
            by tablespoons,
that reserved chick pea LIQUID, if needed, and
            possibly a bit more OLIVE OIL
to reach the consistency you want.  I like it grainy myself, made a bit creamier with a little of the chick pea liquid.

8.  Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight or longer before serving.   This hummus is pretty tasty right away, but chilling definitely improves the flavor.  The secret is the cumin.

laptop versions 1/28/05;6/19/10 rjm; rev/post 11/25/12