Guest Post : Simple Hummus

Hi everyone, this is Matt from FaveDiets, here to spread some healthy food love! Recently, I have been aiming to clear out my cabinets of all those shelf-staple food stuffs. I’m not sure why I get into such cooking moods. I think it’s a combination of my cheapness (why spend money on food when I have some already) and my laziness (I have to leave the house to get groceries? Ugh!) that compels me. As I was cleaning out my cabinets, I came upon a few cans of garbanzo beans.

So what do I do with cans of chickpeas? Make my simple hummus recipe of course! I eat hummus like no one’s business. I am a hummus fiend, by which I mean I am a hummus F-I-E-N-D. I eat hummus like there’s no tomorrow. I eat hummus plain, on pita, on pasta, you name it. When you eat as much hummus as I do, the costs start to add up, which is why this simple hummus recipe is so necessary for me.

See, for some reason grocery stores love to mark up the price of hummus. Where I get my food, a tiny container of the stuff can easily run anywhere between $2 and $4. Trust me, after a while buying hummus gets expensive. But making this simple hummus recipe over and over again is budget friendly! Chances are you have more of these ingredients on hand anyways!

A SIMPLE HUMMUS RECIPE: GARLIC HUMMUS

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• Two cans garbanzo beans (low sodium is best if available)
• 3-4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 3-4 tablespoons tahini (technically this is optional but I think it makes a big difference in the long run if included)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Dried basil, to taste
• Dried oregano, to taste
• Red pepper, to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Open cans of garbanzo beans. Drain away the liquid and rinse the beans well under running cold water. Dry the garbanzo beans.
2. Add the garlic cloves (I prefer raw) to your food processor and blend until well chopped.
3. Add the garbanzo beans and tahini and blend until well combined.
4. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency is achieved.
5. Use a spatula to stir in the spices. Empty hummus into a container and enjoy!

Note 1: Tahini is simply sesame seed paste. Think very plain peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds. I make so much hummus that I buy a jar of the stuff just for my simple hummus recipe. If you’re only making hummus rarely, you can skip the tahini. However, the final texture won’t be the same, but it will still be plenty tasty.

Note 2: I am not one to shy away from strong flavors, so I like to use lots of raw garlic when making hummus. Of course, you can use roasted garlic, garlic powder or no garlic at all if you want. The same principle applies to the spices as well. Roasted red peppers or olives are also tasty addition choices.

Note 3: I’ve used a blender to make hummus in the past, but a food processor really makes quick work of this. I suppose you could even use a mortar and pestle, but that seems a bit much. Let technology do the work for you and bust out that trusty food processor.

Note 4: To make baba ghannoush, simply sub out the chickpeas for roasted eggplant.

As you can tell by the picture, the most current incarnation of my simple hummus recipe came out rather thick, but it was still super delicious. This hummus recipe is so good that I’ve been known to eat it straight with a spoon!

(If you’re interested in some more hummus variation, check out this Vegetable Hummus recipe and this Healthy Two-Bean Hummus recipe on FaveDiets)

What is your preferred way to eat hummus? What’s your favorite flavor of hummus?

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Matthew Kaplan is the Editor for FaveDiets.com, a free online resource featuring hundreds of free healthy recipes, healthy cooking tips and loads more. Be sure to check out FaveDiets on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FaveDiets) and on Twitter (@FaveDiets).