|hummus is great|

I've loved hummus for ages. The smoothiness of it. The multiple flavors. The way it goes with bread products so well. Mmm...

The only sad thing about hummus is that it's pricey. Last time I checked, a little tub of it was running about $5 at the local grocery store. They say there are about 8 servings in a container, but I've often found them to be about 2 servings. Needless to say, I don't have enough cash to have a hummus habit.

Until...one of my friends told me you could make hummus...WITHOUT TAHINI! Did you know that? Honest to God. If you have a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, you could probably make hummus right now. Try it out...

For about 2 cups of hummus, combine the following in your food processor:
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained (reserve the liquid)
- 1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
- salt and pepper
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and broken into smaller pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspon cumin

Turn your processor on. It won't be creamy once it's blended, but add any combination of the following to get the consistency you want. Obviously, olive oil is going to give you the most authentic taste, but it's also going to add themost fat/cals.
- reserved chickpea juice
- olive oil
- fat-free plain yogurt (just learned about this one on the WW boards)
- thoroughly cooked cauliflower (I haven't tried this myself, but have heard it works well)

I have a friend that swears by a little peanut butter (to substitute for the tahini, which is sesame seed paste). I can't tell the difference and it adds a lot of fat/cals, but try it if you want.

Get the consistency you want, store in a tupperware container and you're good to go. I'd estimate the cost at about $1.15 for approximately 2 times what you get in a store-bought tub.

P.S. Do the exact same thing with any of the following for a yummy change-up
- white beans
- black beans
- cooked eggplant (this is babaghanouj)

Comments

Popular Posts