10 January 2008

My Legume Love Affair...Hummus

Hummus
Well folks it looks as though I missed National Bean Day which as you all know was Sunday, January 6th. Unbenownst to me though I did celebrate the day just not in the way that it deserved with a bowl of hummus!
I am poking a little fun, but, I do value the ingenuity of Susan over at The Well Seasoned Cook who has saved the day by being the brainchild of the My Legume Love Affair event. Legumes can be a forgotten addition to our menus and deserve some recognition! I love them in all manners of ways! Susan has the right idea by trying to get us to keep to our goals in 2008 of healthy eating. I can't wait to see the line-up of recipes at Susan's site and what people come up with!!



I have not always had a love affair with the bean. My parents were quite set in their routines when I was growing up. With my dad's work schedule grocery shopping was always Friday night....I don't ever remember deviating from this routine. "Beans on Toast" was always the quickest and easiest solution for a Friday night meal for meat lovers and vegetarian Dad's alike. I moved across the country when I was 19 and sadly for the bean I did not eat another baked bean until about 10 years ago.

Now of course I eat beans of all shapes and sizes. Hummus is a dip/spread that is made from chickpeas. In fact, hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea. Many hummus recipes call for garbanzo beans, but, garbanzo is the Spanish translation of chickpea. They are called cece beans in Italy. Hummus is one of the oldest foods dating back to ancient Egypt. We know that chickpeas were used quite frequently over 7,000 years ago.

There are many delicious recipes for hummus using a myriad of flavourings. If you don't care for tahini leave it out or reduce the amount used. Instead of using canned chickpeas you can take 2 cups of dried chickpeas that have been soaked overnight. Bring to a boil in plenty of water and cook for about an hour. They will get completely soft.

You can add chopped parsley or arugula if you would care to. Sometimes I add chopped roasted red peppers. It is widely open to interpretation!!!!

**Hummus**

2 -1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
parsley and olive oil to garnish

Put 1/2 of the lemon juice and all ingredients into the blender except the chickpeas (and the parsley and oil for garnish) and blend for 5 seconds. Add the chick peas and blend on high until it reaches the consistency of sour cream, but granular, about 10-15 seconds.

Blend in the remaining lemon juice to taste. If the dip is too thick but you don't want to add more lemon juice, add a little water slowly and blend until it reaches the correct consistency.

Pour into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. (It can be eaten immediately, but becomes even more flavorful if left to chill well.)

Add a drizzle of olive oil over the top and add a garnish of parsley before serving. Serve with pita wedges or slices of whole grain breads.

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.
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26 comments:

  1. I just finished off some hummus last night, but now I want some more!

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  2. Your hummus recipe is a winner, Valli!

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  3. Yummy Hummus! I made it with Black Eyed Peas, tastes so good with Pita wedges. Good one for Susan!:)

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  4. Dips are great anytime of the year but best when shared.

    PS. I do like tahini too!

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  5. Well, I would have missed National Bean Day, too, were it not for coming across another blogger's post. It appears every day is a National "Insert-Food-Here" Day.

    Thanks for the great recipe. Hummus always rocks!

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  6. Thanks for all the encouragement guys on the lonely bean!

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  7. Absolutely love hummus and pretty much all beans. Just made a bean stew last night!
    I really think your banner photo is spectacular!

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  8. The banner photo is taken at the top of Knox Mtn where we sometimes go walking. When the photo was snapped we were drinking Champagne and eating strawberries in celebration of our first walk of the season!

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  9. I have a love affair with hummus, too.
    I think it's one of my favorite foods.

    I've never had beans-on-toast, but I think it sounds funny. Sounds like something my parents would like. Like Welsh rarebit.

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  10. Yes Emeline , "beans on toast" are a British thing...just like Welsh Rarebit!

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  11. I just made a roasted red pepper hummus myself that I will be posting about either tonight or tomorrow!

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  12. Yes, I think we need a national bean day here in the States.

    I would have an affair with just about any bean. Yum!

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  13. You're recipe is similar of mine. I have to make hummus all the time because the kids request it after school for snacks. They prefer hummus to chips. I also missed National Bean day.

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  14. Hummus is a great tasting and easy to make dip. I like that you can easily add other flavours to it.

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  15. Ha! I had no clue about national bean day, but it just so happened that on the sixth I made some vegetarian baked beans (didn't post the recipe until the 7th though!) Coincidence? Kinda, but it's bean season.

    Hummus is one of my sweetie's favourite foods, he eats it practically by the gallon. His recipe looks a lot like yours - a good basic recipe that he (oh okay me too) can eat, and eat, and eat...

    I wonder, for people who don't care for tahini (or are allergic to sesame seeds), if some other nut-butter would work. Cashew butter maybe?

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  16. Valli,
    Now perhaps just add some eggplant and cinnamon and you may just have a winner in the joust!! Thanks for your congrats on my blog. And if i haven't said it earlier, thanks for being such a great support and friend!

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  17. Always a delicious thing to have handy. Looks great

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  18. Hola Val! I love garbanzos in any way, but I never made a hummus recipe before! Soooooo, I'm bookmarking yours.

    Thanks for linking Susan in your post, I'm in the event now too!

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  19. Yum. I love hummous. It's such a great snack. I have never tried adding other ingredients. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  20. National Bean Day - who would have thought it eh?!!
    I love 'em and this hummus looks fabulous Valli.

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  21. A terrific post and contribution to the event. I will post something for it soon.

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  22. Don't ya just love hummus! I keep a container in our fridge all the time for snacks. Even for lunch if we are having a sandwich, I use the hummus as a dip for tortila chips and we love serving it with radishes! It is one of those all around items that is so healthy. You make yours the same as mine except I have not put cumin in it. But next batch I am going to try that!

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  23. I love hummus. Your recipe sounds wonderful. Beans are the bomb and I love em'

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  24. I love hummus (it has become a favorite lately) and this looks like a great recipe. I enjoyed your story and post. Beautiful scenery photo on your front page!

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  25. Great recipe! I hope you don't mind me using your recipe in one of my posts.

    Stay in touch!

    -Wendy

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  26. As long as clear credit is used you can use any recipe you would like:D

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Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

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