Update June 2010: in June 2009 I switched to eating gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and nearly vegan, but this recipe is one that has remained in my repertoire unchanged, as it is naturally gluten-free and vegan.
gluten-free. 
It’s still really hot and muggy here in New York, and the idea of cooking is often unappealing. That’s when I resort to the fool-proof hummus recipe that Kim O’Donnel shared in her blog, A Mighty Appetite. Kim is not kidding when she says this is dinner in 7 minutes — that’s all it takes to get wonderfully fresh hummus. Since I started making this recipe, I stopped buying hummus at the store. Making it myself is cheaper and, because it’s freshly made, much more delicious.
Kim’s recipe requires tahini, but if you require a non-tahini hummus recipe, do check out Bleeding Espresso’s recipe for Hummus for the Tahini-Less.
Hummus (or, as I renamed it, Kim’s Foolproof Hummus) — from A Mighty Appetite
Makes about 1.5 cups
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons tahini paste
1 clove garlic
Juice of 2 lemons (approximately 1/2 cup)
Salt to taste
In a food processor, add chickpeas, tahini paste and garlic. Puree for a minute and add a few ounces of water to help with consistency. (Not too runny, though.) Stop motor and with a rubber spatula, scrape sides of bowl to ensure mixture will be completely integrated.
Gradually add lemon juice, constantly tasting mixture for flavor. Puree until you arrive at desired texture. Add salt and taste. Enough? And what about the lemon? (CGL note: I find that sometimes I have to use 3 lemons if they are small)
Serve at room temperature in a shallow bowl. With a spoon, make a groove in the hummus and drizzle olive oil. Mint leaves are a nice garnish. Hummus can be made a few days in advance, and can be frozen.
CGL Notes:
If you want a super creamy hummus, you will want to up the tahini and maybe even add some olive oil while using the food processor
If you want to add additional ingredients (like roasted red peppers or extra garlic or scallions or whatever you fancy), do so right about the time that the hummus starts to come together
in the food processor, but a little before you are achieve the desired texture.And finally, be sure to check out Tales from the Fairy Blogmother, aka the home of What’s Cooking Wednesday. You will see this week’s participants and links to their recipes in addition to Shan’s recipe.
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
YUM! Love hummus, tahini or not, and you remind me that I need to make some
Mmmm hummus! Never thought about making my own before. Thanks for the recipe.
Hummus is the best! I love it!
Ah… homemade hummus. Nothing finer!
Michelle — the beauty of this hummus recipe is that you can get it any consistency you want — from chunky not too creamy hummus to OTT creamy hummus — and therefore can match hummus memories from restaurants. I find hummus in Turkish restaurants is less tahini-ish than Lebanese restaurants.
Shan — I got on the make-our-own hummus bandwagon after my favorite two types both went up in price *a lot* and would routinely go bad before the sell by date. Grrr. To give you an idea of the savings, 3-4 batches of the recipe equal about the cost of a 6-8oz container — and if you get your chickpeas on sale (or make them from dried chickpeas) it’s more like 6-8 batches equal the cost of one containers
Jenn — I so agree. I need to check out your travel blog.
Jen — I agree too
I now want to pair a scoop of hummus with some of cucumber salad from your WCW post and some yummy bread.
As silly as it seems for such a sweet/chocolate lover like myself, hummus is my usual bedtime snack. I cut up tomatoes, dip baby carrots in hummus, have some kalamata olives and feta. This is also my lunch a few days a week. My Nick loves hummus as well, although that would stop if he knew they came from chickpeas
Karley — So what does he think hummus is made of? A friend told her little one that chickpeas are just like peanuts, and that hummus is the cousin of peanut butter. And it worked
He thinks hummus was essentially made in a special hummus machine
I eat chickpeas on my salads and he says how “gross” they are.
Kids are funny–he doesn’t like cheese, but my homemade macaroni and cheese is his favorite food (as long as you don’t say the “and cheese” part).
I like your friend’s idea for the “cousin of peanut butter”