Hummus has always been a family favorite. My baby girl probably picked it up in utero. No other way to explain why she ate it by the spoonful, while refusing all other more appropriate baby foods.

My husband and I eat it for breakfast, lunch and supper. It also makes a great midnight snack in front of the TV. We serve it at parties as a dip with crackers and vegetable sticks and  bring it for potlucks so often that many friends probably won’t let us through the door without it.

I love making my own hummus. I find the store variety expensive and artificially tasting.  It really is my no brainer thing to make when I need to prepare something in a hurry. Good thing its such a snap to make.

You will need a food processor for this.

Homemade Hummus

In the food processor bowl combine:

1 can of chick peas (reserve the liquid in a cup).
1/2 cup sesame Tahini
juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
about half of the reserved liquid

Puree together until smooth and creamy, stopping once or twice to scrape the sides of the bowl. Sometimes you will need to add more liquid as the mixture tends to be thick, and thickens even more when refrigerated. If you are watching your salt intake, discard the canned liquid and replace it with regular water mixed with a spoonful of vegetable oil. I find that the thickness of the canned liquid adds appealing creaminess to the hummus, but the water-oil combination works rather nicely as well. This hummus theoretically lasts for a week in the fridge, but it is at its best freshly made.

I like to decorate my hummus with high quality extra virgin olive oil and sprinkles of paprika and za’atar, a middle eastern spice mix based on hyssop. Don’t sweat it if you don’t have any on hand. The paprika and olive oil mix is delicious on its own.

When served as the main dish, I serve my hummus with sliced tomatoes, pickles and olives. Hard boiled eggs are a very nice addition too. Warm pita wedges top it all off. This time I made my own. Yes, I am very proud of myself. The recipe for these will be published once I’ll finish perfecting my technique.