Hubby James has been hankering for some hummus lately, so I thought I'd dust off the old Cuisinart and give it a whirl. (yuk yuk yuk)
I thought it would be fun to make a regular batch, and a smoked batch.
Ingredients were:
2/3 Cup Tahini
2 Tsp garlic (next time I'm going to try roasted garlic, since that is just heaven)
2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
6 Tbsp lemon juice (more if you like it more tangy)
1/2 cup water
8 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like a little heat)
For the smoked chickpeas, I threw them on a cookie sheet, and smoked them for about an hour. I got distracted, but should have stirred them halfway through, since they were kind of pasty on the bottom.
Next I added the tahini, garlic, salt, paprika, and cayenne my food processor and blended it for about a minute.
Next in was the olive oil and smoked chickpeas. I blended them for a couple of minutes-- the mixture made a thick paste. Added the water, and blended for 2-3 more minutes. Added the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time until it got to my desired tartness, and then blended for a few more minutes. I ended up adding a bit more water and olive oil, since smoking the chickpeas dried them out a bit too.
We decided it needed a fancy topper, too, so I did up some bell peppers on the MAK:
Got those good and roasted,
Then James decided he wanted a go-round with the Cuisinart. (yuk yuk yuk) He put the roasted peppers in the food processor with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and pureed it for a bit. He asked what he could add to make it tangier and a little sweeter, so I suggested some reduced balsamic vinegar glaze. I think we added about a tablespoon, and it was DANG good.
For the 'regular' hummus, we did the same thing, just without the smoking step. Turned out great, just a little thinner than the smoked stuff.
Served it up with some feta, onions, pita bread, and some pickled carrots and green beans I'd done last summer.
Between James eating an entire tub worth on Sunday, and the SIX cans of garbanzo beans he picked up after work yesterday, I'm guessing this was a hit!
