Hummus (Mediterranean chick-pea spread)
- Serves: 8 – 10
- Preparation Time: 15 minutes
- Total Cooking time: none
This actually was one of the first new recipes I learned while I was in cooking school, up until that point most of what I had learned was from my mom and grandmother and was basic, stick to your ribs southern style cooking which I still love to this day.
However, when I got into the culinary arts program I was plunged into a world of new ideas and recipes that I had never known existed (or just simply didn’t know how to pronounce). It was in Francis Lynch’s (I don’t call him Mr. Lynch.. lest he start calling me Mr. Owsley again) Garde Manger class that I learned the basic recipe for this wonderfully hearty and yet totally vegetarian dip/spread and to tell the truth, I was hooked from the first taste.
Francis remains a friend and mentor to this day. This particular recipe is a bit heavier on garlic and lemon flavors from the original but deep down it is still the same recipe at heart and is just as easy to make.
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | oz | canned chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained (about 2 cans) |
| 1 ½ | cup | Tehina paste |
| 1 | large | white onion coarsely chopped |
| 3 | tablespoon | chopped garlic |
| 1 | oz | lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons) |
| 1 1/2 | cup | extra virgin olive oil |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | black pepper |
| salt (to taste) | ||
| dash | Tabasco sauce |
Alternate additions
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 2 – 3 | roasted red/green pepper strips | |
| 3 – 4 | cloves roasted garlic | |
| 3 – 4 | sun dried tomatoes in olive oil | |
| 2 | tablespoon | pesto sauce |
To prepare:
Place the chick peas, onions, garlic and tehina paste together in a food processor and blend at high speed, adding the lemon juice, olive oil, and optional ingredients to thin to consistency (it should be a thick but smooth spreadeable paste) season with salt, pepper and pepper sauce and blend until smooth. Place in airtight containers with a thin covering of olive oil and refrigerate. Should keep up to two weeks.
