Whether you call them garbanzo beans, chickpeas, ceci or chana, when you puree these legumes up you end up with some pretty awesome, hummus. Hummus is one of my favorite dips. Unfortunately, all too often, people feel the need to add cumin to it, which I feel should be outlawed. I eat some hummus almost every day and finally decided to try making it myself. The first few attempts were less than good. The end product was usually very bitter. I realized that I was using too much tahini for my liking. As soon as I cut the amount of hummus, I had a winner. The trick to getting really creamy hummus is to use warm garbanzo beans. To warm them up, simply let them sit in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes before you are ready to use them. Once your hummus is made however, it will be warm, so you will need to chill it for a bit before serving. Now that you’ve got hummus you can use it as a sandwich spread, a dip, on salads or try making our Hummus Cucumber Cups.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups if using fresh
1 1/2 TBL extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp sesame oil
1 TBL lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 TBL tahini
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, about 4 minutes.

2. Taste and add more salt and lemon as desired. If you want a thinner consistency, add 1 or 2 TBL water. Process another 2 minutes.

3. Put in to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.