Hummus

I love Middle Eastern food and one of my favorites is hummus.   Hummus is a dip or paste made of pureed chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), garlic, lemon juice, tahini (sesame seed paste), olive oil and spices.   It is usually eaten with pita bread or pita chips as an appetizer, but it can also be used as sandwich filling or a dip for vegetables.    It is quite tasty and also very healthy.   For example, tonight my dinner will be hummus, an assortment of raw vegetables, some pita bread and some cubes of low fat feta cheese.   MMMM

Hummus is another of those things that you don't have to strictly follow the recipe and still have it turn out tasty.    Put in anything you like in addition to what I list below.   I've seen hummus recipes that use black beans instead of chickpeas.   Others that add some roasted red peppers or green onions.   I even saw one that used peanut butter in place of the tahini.   Follow your taste buds!    Enjoy!

1 15-oz can of chickpeas or 1 1/2 cup home cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp. tahini (sesame seed paste)
the strained juice of about 5 lemons
4 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.    Whirl until pureed and smooth.   Refrigerate.   When serving you can drizzle with a bit of olive oil if you like and dust with a bit more ground red pepper or paprika.   Eat with raw vegetables or pita bread.   Enjoy!