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| As you know, the Genie is a purist. As such, he likes to drizzle his hummus with EVOO and top off with a sprinkling of paprika. It's equally good with pita bread or our homemade pita chips with MAGIC spices! |
The secret is no secret really, this ancient recipe has been around since the beginning of time. Perhaps because of this though, Hummus is one of those items that people think is simple but actually, it has a bit of a science to it. The ingredients are straightforward enough: chickpeas (fresh, and soaked overnight), olive oil (EVOO works very well), lemon, garlic, Tahini, which can be found at any Mediterranean market, salt, pepper, cumin and paprika to taste. Now for the "secret": either biceps of steel or a good food processor. To make really authentic hummus you must do it the old- fashioned way: with a mortar and pestle. To begin, you should have about 2-3 handfuls of chickpeas. Shuck the legumes of their shells. If they have been soaked overnight, they will come right off. Set aside. Combine about ¼ cup Tahini and the juice of one large lemon. Mix like the dickens until frothy, this is the key to getting your hummus creamy, by the way. Mix with crushed garlic. Now we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE GARLIC so if you’re like us, 4 cloves should do. Like a little less? Use 2 cloves. Note that raw garlic can overpower the mild chickpeas so, unless you’re making “Garlic Hummus”, six, seven or more cloves is not recommended. The Gourmet Genie is a purist and would never add sun dried tomatoes, pesto, jalapeno or any of these new-fangled add-ins but if you must… this would be the time to incorporate these rogue ingredients. This is where your chickpeas come in and the hardest part. Mash away. Once the desired consistency has been reached, slowly add in the other ingredients tasting it as you go along. Repeat and tinker as needed. Enjoy!
