Hummus II - Tahini's Revenge

[johnpalmer]

So... I soaked the chickpeas for a long time, and then boiled them gently for about 45 minutes. When they were done, they were absolute mush. Using a milkshake blender (you know, one of those 'stick' style blenders that kinda-sorta-doesn't-quite look like an old fashioned milkshake blender removed from its main machine?) I pulverized them quite nicely, and opened my secret weapon: a can of tahini, found at a Whole Foods store in Philadelphia.

(Yes, travelling to Philadelphia to obtain tahini *was* going a bit out of my way, but I also got pretzels and Tastykakes!)

(Oh, yeah, and I made the trip to see family, and go to the opera with my beloved Pat)

(It didn't erase my yearning to have stopped by Muncie on the way home, but the plane didn't swoop low enough, and it'd still be a heck of a drive.)

Anyway...

The tahini adds a certain something that was missing. Also, reading the recipe, 2 cups of chickpeas calls for 2/3s of a cup of lemon juice (!!!), not the tablespoon or so I used last time. It also calls for 2 cloves of garlic, so, since I was making 1 cup of chickpeas, I used four cloves.

It's still thicker than the glorious hummus I had at Ali Babas, a middle eastern restaurant near the Ohio State University, but that's something that can be fixed if I wanted it to be fixed. And, it's got a lovely flavor to it. It's not *quite* right... not the way I'm eating it. Then again, I don't think most folks eat hummus by the forkful.

So, I think I can consider my hummus a success.

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Yay!!! Yummy hummus success!

Does your recipe call for olive or sesame oil in addition to the tahini? I think you could thin it with just a bit more oil if it does ...

Did you figure out how to revive the pretzels?

aww

[mamatiger.livejournal.com]

Aww. Just my luck to live in fly-over country when both my sweethearts live on the coasts. Should've told me when you'd be flying over, I'd've waved at you. ;)

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Yay! Nothing like good hummus. Might try adding one or two roasted red peppers (fresh or from a jar) next time. Yumma.

Other Tahini Wonders...

[jarlsberg71.livejournal.com]

As a fan of Baba Ghanouj (don't trust my spelling, but I'm too lazy to look it up, besides, there's like 4 different ways to spell it) I too had the problem of my finished product not quite tasting like it should.... I found that the small bits of parsley or cilantro and splitting some of the lemon juice with lime improved the taste 10 fold. Oh yeah, and let it sit before using the fork, no matter how long you employ the work of your boat motor (stick blender) letting the flavors mingle for 30 minutes makes it taste good ( and you can clean up before you eat :)

Oh and I like hot sauce in my hummus, about 1 tbsp per cup. :) The one I recommend is "A Taste of Thai" garlic hot sauce.... Yummy. And it's ok to eat it with a fork. Maybe there should be an LJ group of forked-hummus

Hugs to kshandra for finding your cool journal :)