The captious vegetarian

I’m updating this old post to include a new hummus recipe that I just created.  It’s based on the recipe for Lemon Walnut Hummus in Peter Berley’s cookbook Fresh Food Fast, but I made a few substitutions/alterations, and created Pepita Hummus instead.  If I ever have a bit of cooked pumpkin around I think I might try adding a 1/4 cup to make a pretty, orange “pumpkin” hummus.

This is a small recipe because I currently only have a mini food processor.  If you have a larger one, by all means double the recipe.

• 1/4 cup pepitas
• 3/4 tsp. cumin seeds
• 3/8 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 1/4 cups drained, soft chickpeas
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 small to medium garlic cloves
• scant 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt (possibly less or more depending on how salty your beans are)
• 1 Tbs. water or bean cooking liquid

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (in order to warm up your pita bread).
2. In a small to medium skillet over medium heat, toast the pepitas until they start to pop and smell fragrant.
3. While the pepitas toast,  add to the bowl of a food processor:  chickpeas, oil , lemon juice, garlic, cayenne, and salt.  Puree until it won’t puree anymore.  Then, when the pepitas are toasted, transfer them to a spice mill and grind to a powder.   Add the ground pepitas to the food processor and puree again.
4. In the same skillet, add the cumin and coriander seeds and toast for 30 seconds, until fragrant and slightly darkened.  Transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a powder.  Add the spices to the food processor, and puree until smooth.  If the blades won’t turn and the hummus is not yet smooth, add water, 1 Tablespoon of water at a time, until it’s smooth.
5. Serve with warmed pita bread.

Adding the freshly ground pepitas and spices really makes this recipe.  It’s so fragrant and roasted tasting that it’s really quite unlike hummus.   Derek objected to the hummus appellation, and called it “chickpea spread.”  The texture is thick and just a little fluffy, but not too airy and not too rich.  I ate the hummus for lunch on warmed pita bread, with some yogurt spread (yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and salt), sliced tomatoes, and marinated cucumbers.  It was a delicious and satisfying lunch.  All I was missing was a few kalamata olives.  I also had the hummus for lunch with Berley’s tabbouleh recipe.  Although I wasn’t a big fan of the tabbouleh by itself, with the hummus it was quite tasty.

Original post from March 15, 2007:

I used to make hummus all the time when I lived in the co-op in college, but unfortunately I don’t remember what recipe I used. I’m relatively picky about hummus. I like the Sabra brand pretty well, but not many of the other store brands.

Cook’s Illustrated Light Hummus

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 6 Tbs. water
• 3 Tbs. juice from 1 large lemon
• 2 Tbs. tahini
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1/4 tsp.)
• pinch cayenne pepper

1. Process the chickpeas, water lemon juice, tahini, 2 tsp. of the oil, salt, garlic, and cayenne together in a food processor until very smooth, 1 to 1.5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatual as needed.
2. Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl; cover and refrigerate until the flavors meld, about 30 minutes. To serve, make a well in the center of the hummus, and drizzle in the remaining tsp. of olive oil.

My Notes:

The first time I made this I followed the recipe and I thought it was too thin, and too salty, but pretty good otherwise. The second time I made it I reduced the water to 2 Tbs., and the salt to 1/2 tsp, and left out the final drizzle of olive oil. It was still salty, but better. The hummus tastes good to me—the right combo of lemon to garlic to nuttiness—but for some reason I’ve been having trouble getting myself (or Derek) to eat it. Maybe we’ve just not been in a hummus mood.

CI says that the hummus can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, but that seems like an underestimate to me.

Derek’s friend said he has the best hummus recipe in the world. I asked him for it and he then admitted he didn’t really have a recipe per se, but that the secret ingredients are peanut butter and lemon zest. So I tried making this recipe, adding a tsp. of peanut butter, and the zest of one lemon. I was surprised that with only a tsp. of peanut butter I could taste it, but indeed I could. Derek thought it was better before the additions, however. I do like the idea of using the zest instead of just tossing it though. You know what Dr. Greger says…

I made this a second time following the recipe very closely, and I thought it was fine but Derek really didn’t like it, I have no idea why. He wouldn’t touch the stuff.