Homemade Hummus Recipe

I love hummus and I can't believe I've never made it before. After today I don't think I'll ever buy store bought hummus again! This recipe is super easy and VERY forgiving plus it is naturally gluten free! Basically everything in this is to your personal taste and there are so many options for flavors that it is impossible to mess it up. It only took me about 5 minutes to prep and 5 minutes throw all of the ingredients in a blender and bam! It was done! That easy, I swear... the longest part of the process for me was finding the tahini in my local Safeway.

First things first, the ingredients:

• 1 16 oz. can of garbanzo beans or chickpeas
• 1/4 Cup of liquid from can of garbanzo beans
• 3/5 Tablespoons of lemon juice (the juice from 1 1/2- 2 fresh lemons)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Prep and Directions:

• Juice lemons (if using fresh lemon)
• Chop or grate garlic (I used a micro-plane)
• Drain garbanzo beans and set liquid aside for later use

1. Combine garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and olive oil in a blender or food processor and pulse 3-5 times until combined
2. Add in 1/4 Cup of liquid from garbanzo beans and blend for 3-5 minutes until creamy and smooth
3. Place in a serving bowl and create a shallow well in the middle of the hummus to drizzle some olive oil on top

Your hummus will be ready to eat right away when you are finished or you can store it. It will last about 4-7 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container with olive oil on top and will last up to 6 months in the freezer. If you find that the hummus has dried out a little bit with longer storage feel free to stir in some more olive oil until it reaches your desired consistency.

A couple of tips, hints and add-in ingredients:

• During this process I learned that tahini is sold in most stores in the peanut butter section (not ethnic foods aisle, or the specialty items section, or the deli, or the refrigerated section... you get it, I was lost)
• There is no real substitute for tahini in this recipe (or any) but a couple of things come pretty close from what I have read: reduced fat or reduced sugar  all natural peanut butter, almond butter, sesame oil and sesame seed ground together, or any combination of these things.
• The garlic and lemon in this recipe are to taste and any amount can be added depending on the flavor you are looking for
• A few different things that can be blended into this or sprinkled on top include: smoked paprika, cayenne, roasted garlic, sun dried tomatoes, sriracha, rosemary, olives, roasted red peppers, pesto, walnuts, pine nuts, or anything else you can think of

I found this little bit of information about tahini on wikipedia since I had no idea what it was

before today:

"tahini is a paste made from ground,

hulled sesame seeds used in North African,

Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern 

cuisine. Tahini is served as a dip... or as

a major component of hummus, baba 

ghanoush, and halva."

Here is a photo of my finished product, which I am proud of and enjoying with carrots and celery for dipping!

Have fun and enjoy the process!