Garlicky Hummus

I love hummus - it's my dip of choice and I find it makes any raw veggie infinitely tastier (we're talking carrots, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, celery...you name it, hummus will taste good on it!). It's also tastes amazing with fresh pita bread, and can be used as a healthy alternative to mayo on your favourite sandwich or wrap. Hummus is also incredibly versatile! You can use different beans for the base, and you can also switch it up with a variety of spices.

I am a bit of a sucker for the President's Choice line of hummus spreads (has anyone else out there tried PC's masala hummus? It's devine!), however, I have been striving to make all of my favourites at home from scratch. It's a great way to save money, and you can alter the content and intensity of the flavours to your liking. Plus, it's incredibly easy, so why not?! This recipe can be whipped up in about 10 minutes. It uses canned chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), but feel free to use dried chickpeas in their place (here is a quick how-to on soaking and cooking dried chickpeas). This is a fairly traditional hummus recipe utilizing chickpeas, tahnini, lemon juice and garlic. I am hoping to eventually emulate the PC masala hummus recipe and once I perfect it I will share it in a post.

Garlicky Hummus Spread

1 540 mL can chickpeas/garbanzo beans 

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on top

3 cloves garlic (if you aren't a big fan of garlic feel free to scale this back a bit)

1/4 tsp. cumin

generous pinch of salt (I used the Selsi Prairie Pink Salt I bought at the St. Lawrence Market during my last visit to Toronto)

1/2 cup of water

Paprika, to sprinkle on top

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Combine all ingredients, except for water (and paprika) in your food processor or blender. Add water and puree the ingredients until smooth. I used my tiny $25 blender and spread the blending over two batches. You may need to stir the ingredients to ensure even blending. The finished product should have a smooth and creamy consistency. 

Scoop your hummus into a bowl and drizzle olive oil and paprika on top. Enjoy!

- Alex (Bean)

Note: Check your local grocer's international aisle for tahini - it is usually located in the Middle Eastern section.