Yummy Hummus

I know you might think it's easy to just go to the store and buy hummus, but I have to tell you, it's just as easy to make it yourself at home! My friend Karen made her hummus for book club last week and I loved it so much I wanted to give it a try. She learned it from her aunts, but didn't have a specific recipe, but did have specific ingredients: chick peas, sesame tahini (you can find this either near the peanut butter, or in the health food section of your supermarket), fresh garlic cloves (not the kind that are already peeled; the ones she bought from Stew Leonards didn't have any of the tell-tale garlic smell, which was really bizarre), olive oil and cumin. There was one ingredient that I couldn't find, so I substituted fresh lemon juice. I also cut the prep time by not heating the chick peas first and using the reserved chick pea liquid to thin the mixture. Enjoy!




Yummy Hummus
Serves 8

1 can (19 oz) chick peas, drained, liquid reserved (I used Progresso)
2 Tbsp sesame tahini
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves (depending on how much garlic you like)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp table salt or to taste

Place the drained chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, the garlic cloves, salt and cumin in the workbowl of a food processor or a blender. Process until completely smooth, about 5 minutes. If the mixture seems too thick as it's processing, add some of the reserved chick pea liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

(For those of you counting points, to divide this for 8 servings, I'm averaging about 1/4 cup hummus is equal to 2 points.)