{stories and snapshots from my new york city life.}

1.18.2011

Homemade Hummus

I have no recollection of the first time I ate hummus. As far as I know, it has been in my culinary repartee since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Alas, I do have an extremely fond remembrance of the last time I ate hummus. That's because it was two days ago. Which goes to show that my short-term memory is still at the top of its game. Go me.

The day started like any other, and to be honest, I'd had no intentions of whipping up this popular Middle Eastern spread upon waking. Then I took a leisurely stroll around my neighborhood, an area well known for its Middle Eastern and Greek restaurants and food shops. And there they were...

Three huge crates piled with bags and bags full of freshly baked pita breads, right on the sidewalk in front of a small Middle Eastern grocery.

Except these were like no pita breads I had ever seen before. They were as big and round as pizza crusts, as soft as a freshly baked yeast roll. I opened the bag and stuck my nose inside. I inhaled deeply and so help me God, it smelled so good in there that my eyes stayed crossed for a good three seconds. 

As I headed home, I ducked into an awesome Greek specialty store called Titan Foods for some roasted tahini, a key ingredient for hummus. I needed a vehicle through which to justify eating an entire bag of freshly baked pita bread. I first learned of this store from my token Greek friend Chryso. And yes, her family calls her Soula. 

I was excited to break out the new food processor my boyfriend got me for Christmas. I actually stumbled on it in the corner that morning; he was going to return it because his mother got me an immersion blender for for Christmas and he didn't think I'd need both. Silly boy.

Homemade Hummus

  • 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
  • 1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
  • 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. 
If I can offer one tip, it would be to blend well. Then blend again. That way you'll avoid chomping into half a raw garlic clove and offending half your office like I did. 

10 comments:

  1. i tried to make my own hummus straight out of college... in a blender. it looked like hummus and tasted like olive oil. it was just embarrassing!

    www.paperplanesandmaryjanes.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also grew up on hummus...and I still love the stuff. I always have such a hard time getting mine as creamy as the kind I buy at the store. I am looking forward to giving your recipe a try. Thank you for sharing your tasty treat with me. I hope you had a great day...may tomorrow be even better!

    ReplyDelete
  3. this hummus looks so lovely.. i love eating this anytime of the day..thank you for sharing this with us. have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yum! I'm still trying to perfect my hummus... it shouldn't be all that difficult but I keep finding a way to screw it up. :) Oh well, practice makes perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so thrilled to have a good hummus recipe. The photos alone were making my mouth water. I'll be giving it a try.

    I'm loving your blog by the way!

    -xoxo Noe ADELLA AVENUE

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'll take a container full of that STAT! haha

    ReplyDelete
  7. I absolutely love Hummus! The idea of walking down a NYC street and coming across fresh baked pita,makes me swoon. I can see why this idea came to you :-) Beautiful.

    Velva

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes, I made Hummus once... and I am a connoisseur of hummus if I do say so myself. All that aside, mine was terrible because a) I got impatient and stopped blending so it was tooo chunky as you mentioned and b) it was too garlicky. which is never something i thought i would say, because i adore garlic. but it was too garlicky. So...maybe I am not meant to be a hummus-maker?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love hummus, and glad to see you were inspired by a bag of fresh pita. I know what you mean about the garlic chunks, so I mince them prior to blending. If you're in the midtown east area, Naya on 56th and 2nd makes the best hummus in town.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yes, definitely on the same wave length :) Your hummus looks delish, too! Also, never ever thought of making homemade english muffins, but I have had some recent good luck with yeast (the focaccia I posted the other day), perhaps I will give the english muffins a try and let you know how it goes!

    ReplyDelete