Hummus from scratch

NOTE: old draft late post

I know- I’m kind of weird because I can never eat garbanzo in its pure form but turn it into hummus and I’m game anytime.  I think it’s a textural issue and the fact that hummus is already a by-product- creamy and smooth and with all the wonderful add-ons to make it really scrumptious.  I thought about whipping my own version for my vegetarian sandwich project but as always, it gets put aside for something more urgent.    A firm believer I am that there’s time for everything once again proved it’s true because I got some garbanzo in the raw from Lola. 

The garbanzo came in shiny green shells and when I tasted one, it tasted exactly like jicama!  They’re small though and some pods contain two which means they’re even smaller. Ah it seemed like an eternity taking them out of their shells but after every little bean was shelled, it was easy all the way to the finish line

I used the basic recipe which is salt and pepper, tahini paste, a little cumin, garlic, fresh lemon juice, good olive oil and more olive oil with some pimenton dulce upon serving.  Pimenton Dulce has that smoky flavor that marries well with the rest of the ingredients.  Since this a late post, I might as well mention that the first batch I made was a trial of sorts- it was a play at raw food preparation where I did not boil the garbanzo but oven roasted them for an hour then soaked them in water overnight before processing.  It was delicious but it has a shorter store life even in the fridge.  

The second batch I made was pure deliciousness because I soaked the beans for 10 hours in cold water then boiled in salted water with baking soda for 45 minutes.  Straight to the food processor while still hot to process with hot water until creamy.  It was silky at that point- even with skin on. Then that's the time I added the garlic, tahini paste, cumin and olive oil.  The fresh lemon juice came in towards the end and voila- fresh hummus from my kitchen.  For my last batch, I used roasted tomatoes to flavor half of it and it was awesome.  I wanted roasted bell peppers but I didn't have any.  I'm sure this is not going to be the last batch so roasted pepper next!

I could eat this everyday but some of my friends prefer to slather their hot and crusty bolillos with the hummus and I can't blame them nor judge them.  I'm just happy with the result of my hummus escapade.  Here's how I made it:

Homemade Hummus

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked garbanzo
3/4 cup hot water

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp tahini paste

juice of 1 lemon

4 cloves garlic- finely chopped 

1 tsp cumin (optional)

extra olive oil for serving

paprika (I used Pimenton Dulce)

Procedure:

I boiled my own garbanzo in salted water so I didn't use extra salt after

Drain the garbanzo and transfer to the food processor (a blender will do but a food processor is more convenient for me)

Add hot water and process until smooth

Add garlic, tahini paste, cumin and olive oil and pulse together until well incorporated

Add lemon juice and stir

Taste if flavor needs to be adjusted

Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle more olive oil and add a sprinkle of paprika upon serving

Enjoy with pita bread or vegetables

Note:  You may add roasted bell peppers or roasted tomatoes like I did - about 2 tbsp and the result was amazing!  The next batch will have more pictures for sure.