Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Healthier Hummus

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! We were out of town for a bit, but am back now and I'm determined to finish all the Thanksgiving posts. There are about 3 more or so after this.

Another appetizer that we made for Thanksgiving was hummus. I love hummus and its great for entertaining as well as just keeping around the house as a healthy snack. Especially if its served with carrot and celery sticks instead of pita bread or chips.

A trick that I learned a long time ago from Martha Stewart is to replace the olive oil with chicken stock. That makes it even more healthy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of garbanzo beans
  • 1 tablespoon of tahini (to taste)
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic (to taste)
  • juice from 1/2 of a lemon (to taste)
  • 1/4 cup of chicken stock, olive oil, the liquid from the garbanzo beans, or a combo of all.
  • salt to taste
Method:
  • Drain the garbanzo beans and reserve the liquid if desired.
  • Pour the beans into a food processor.
  • If desired, add a clove or two of garlic.
  • If desired, add some lemon juice, to taste. I used about about half a lemon.
  • If desired, add some tahini, I used about a tablespoon.
  • Turn on the food processor while slowly drizzling in the chicken stock, olive oil or liquid from the beans or a combo of any of the three until the desired consistency is reached. You may have to stop the processor and scrape down the sides during this process.
  • Add salt to taste.
  • Serve with anything from pita bread, to chips, to carrot and celery sticks.
You can sprinkle a bit of paprika or herbs on top for color and flavor too.

18 comments:

Hollee said...

I LOVE the fact that this isn't straight oil in the hummus...will have to try this out.

Tracy said...

I was dumbfounded by your comment about Jack Daniels pecans on my blog. My Mom is called Gaga by her grandkids and was the recipient of those pecans. She never emails let alone reply to blogs -- I don't think she's ever read mine. interesting to find out there's another Gaga!

Olga said...

Hummus is one of my favorites!

Have you tried adding sundried tomatoes or roasted peppers? I also add pesto to it sometimes.

By the way, re your comment on my split pea soup...I ended up pureeing it the third time I ate it, just for something different :)

Happy 2009!

Chris said...

Hummous is great, ain't it?
We never use oil either, but do use a little more tahini.
Here's how we do it:
---
3 cans chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
3/4 cup lemon juice
6-7 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp salt

Drain two of the cans of chickpeas, leave the third can 1/2 undrained. Set aside 6 or 7 chickpeas. In a food processor, add the cans of chickpeas, including the liquid from the third can. Puree. Add the tahini, and continue to blend. Finally, add the lemon, garlic, and salt, and puree until desired consistency.

Pam said...

I love that you used chicken stock. It looks and sounds delicious.

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Looks delicious and the texture is great too!

Anonymous said...

I love hummus! This looks like a great recipe...thanks for sharing this!

Anonymous said...

Your version of hummus looks so smooth and creamy- Yum!

gaga said...

Tracy - My nickname growing up was Gaga and it has stuck with me to this day. What a small world!

Olga - I have tried sundried tomatoes and roasted peppers. There are so many great options for hummus, it's so versatile, I love it!

That Girl said...

I've never heard of using anything but oil in hummus!

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

yum, i have to try that next time.

test it comm said...

Hummus is one of my favorite snacks.

Happy new year!

Lori said...

I have been meaning to make hummus for weeks now. Its a regular at our house.

Have a Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Earlier to what Chris said, I used chickpeas as well... the same recipe. Great as a dip with pita bread.

Anonymous said...

Love this hummus recipe - this will make a great New Year's resolution kick off recipe :) Happy new year!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by earlier. I was just looking for a hummus recipe and there you are. Are garbanzo beans different to chick peas? Can I use chick peas instead? Not sure if I can get garbanzo beans in Switzerland.

gaga said...

Hey Janet, yes garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same thing.

Anonymous said...

Yum, I love hummus and make it fairly often and (as per the recipe you've posted) I never put a separate helping of oil into the mix anymore. In fact I don't use tahini but actually just toast and grind sesame seeds (which is all that tahini consists of anyway) and then (because I generally cook the chickpeas from dried) I use the chickpea cooking liquid (which has a little oil in it) to thin it out - I blogged about it a while back here: http://www.thedailyspud.com/2008/11/03/mushy-chickpeas/