Weekday Lunches: Easy Homemade Hummus

by Amy L. Hatch

About six months ago, my husband asked me if I could make hummus.

Hummus! I scoffed. Why on earth would we make hummus if we can just buy it, for goodness sake?

But I’m a good sport, and I’m not wild about grocery-store hummus, so I said yes. I also really miss a hummus we used to get at a Middle Eastern joint back East, and I thought I’d give it a go, to see if I could replicate it.

You know what? Mine is even better.

This is so easy, you guys, and so much better for you, and so much cheaper, too. You get about three cups of hummus from this recipe, and it keeps for two to three weeks. It takes about 15 minutes to make. You can even get kooky and use organic ingredients, if you want to.

And it tastes so much better than the stuff you get at the grocery store.

My recipe is adapted from “Joy of Cooking,” which is the one cookbook I own that I consistently use. I tinkered with it for awhile to get it just right for our family’s taste.

You will need:

2 cans of chickpeas
3 Tbs tahini (sesame paste)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup lemon juice
Sea salt to taste

Some people — like, my people — enjoy the “creamy” taste of cumin in their hummus.

Step 1: Open and rinse your chickpeas

Step 2: Dump ‘em in your food processor (or blender), and add the lemon juice and garlic. I’m lazy, so I use that pre-chopped garlic you can buy in wee jars in the produce aisle. If you use that, two cloves equals about 1 tsp. I use a scant teaspoon, because I don’t like to be stinky after lunch.

Step 4: Add 3 Tbs tahini. I used organic this time, because I finally decided to use my 2-year-old Strawberry Fields gift card. You can also get tahini at World Harvest in Urbana and Meijer. I don’t know if they have it at Schnucks.

Step 5: Blend, baby, blend. I’m fussy about the texture of my hummus, so I add a glug or two of extra lemon juice to get the right consistency. You can also use more water, if you don’t want more tartness.

Step 6: Season with salt and cumin to taste, pulsing/blending until you get the taste you like.

Note: Some people aren’t wild about cumin. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. No biggie. Also, if you want to get really crazy, you can cook your own chickpeas. I do not do this (see: Lazy).

Store the hummus in a covered container in the fridge for about three weeks, if it lasts that long.

Here are some serving suggestions from my house to yours, especially if you’re looking to shake up the ol’ school or work lunch box:

• Top with some olive oil and serve with fresh tomatoes, cukes and pita chips.
• Spread on a whole wheat pita pocket with veggies, or raisins — yes, raisins.
• Serve with whole wheat crackers and Greek olives.
• Spread on a pretzel bagel from Einstein’s.

Or, you could eat it straight out of the dish with your finger. Just sayin’.

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