Medditteranean Hummus

I have been making hummus for several years now. I just think it is so much better than store bought. If you think you don't like hummus and have only tried store bought, give hummus a second chance with this recipe! I bet you will like love it! All but one of my kids (I won't mention any names, but it's the usual suspect) love this! If I call it dip they'll dig in. Actually, come to think of it, when I bring hummus to work people stop and ask me what I'm eating. When I tell them it's hummus, they usually scrunch up there noses and say they've never liked hummus. However, when I call it bean dip (technically it is a bean dip, garbanzo bean) they try it and love it. Where's your sense of adventure people? Where's the fun in eating the same old things day after day? Anyway, after years of experimenting I think I have come up with the best hummus in the world! I really, really loved how authentic this particular hummus tasted. Not that I've been to the Medditteranean or Middle East but I sure could picture it while eating this hummus.

So what exactly is hummus? I'm glad you asked. Hummus is made from garbanzo beans, sometimes called chick peas. Hummus is actually the Arabic word for chickpea, called garbanzo in Spanish, ceci in Italian, gram in India. It is used throughout the Arabic world. It is popular in the Medditteranean and as far away as India. Usually it is used as an appetizer with an accompaniment of pita bread or veggies or as a sauce for meats and fish. It has been around for thousands of years being used by our hunter-gatherer ancestors, which as far as I'm concerned means it is probly a safe bet that it is a healthy food.

So, now that you know everything you ever wanted to know about hummus, I suppose I will share my recipe with you. This makes a wonderful mid-afternoon snack! Jazz it up like my picture and it is a pretty and

impressive hors d'oeuvres.

You will need:

2 - 15 oz. cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup of pine nuts

1/4 cup EVOO

(you could use tahini, which is actually more traditionally used, just omit the EVOO if you do. I don't like the "peanut butter, smokey taste of tahini and I love pine nuts)

Juice of 1-2 lemons (about 1/3 cup)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne (omit if you don't like it spicy, but it's just a little)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp paprika, plus a sprinkle for garnish

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

2 TBSP shopped fresh parsley plus sprig for garnish

2-3 TBSP Hot water if needed.

Kalamata Olives as garnish

1. Toast the pine nuts over med-high heat in a DRY (no oil) cast iron skillet (again, get rid of your coated, non-stick pans, they are bad, bad, bad for your health!) Shaking the skillet continuously until the pine nuts brown nicely, about 1-2 minutes.

2. Combine all ingredients in a plastic container. If you have an immersion blender I highly recommend using it! You can use a food processor or blender but it is kind of a pain to keep scraping the sides, also, the texture is MUCH smoother when you use an immersion blender. Add a TBSP of water at a time to get to desired consistency.

Serve with pita chips, inside pitas with cucumber, tomato, falafel etc. as a healthy alternative to mayo. Or, my favorite, with fresh veggies and Kalamata olives such as cucumber, sugar snap peas, mini sweet peppers, carrots or whatever you want.

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Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size 1 (149g) about 1/3 cup
Recipe makes 8 servings

Calories 220; Calories from Fat 77 (35%); Total Fat 8.6g; Saturated Fat 1.2g;
Monounsaturated Fat 3.0g ; Polyunsaturated Fat 3.8g; Trans Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 0mg 0%; Sodium 330mg 13%; Potassium 297mg 8%; Total Carbohydrate 31.4g 10%; Dietary Fiber 7.5g 30%; Sugars 0.0g Protein 8.4g

Hummus