Recipe of the Week: Hummus
For those of you who actually have class on Mondays, Columbus Day this year created a nice little extended weekend. An extra day to sleep in, do your homework, or even go out and do something-dare I say-fun.
But Columbus Day for me means one thing: family dinner. Today is the day family members all over the city come together as a preview for Thanksgiving. New recipes to test? Try it out on Columbus Day they say. If it goes fast, it’s ready for the Thanksgiving hoopla. If no one touches it, then you’re better off bringing nothing.
Every year for the past six years, I’ve made my famous cranberry orange sauce for both Columbus Day and Thanksgiving. But this year I wanted to try something different. I was going to compete with my aunt for the best hummus recipe.
That was not a good idea.
Disclaimer: I put too much lemon, which creates a weird aftertaste, so keep that in mind!
Ingredients:
-One can of ground garbanzo beans (otherwise known as “Hummus” Do not be fooled, it is not the traditional hummus that we know and love)
-Two teaspoons of squeezed lemon (I made the mistake of putting of putting half a lemon)
-One tablespoon of tahini
-One teaspoon of crushed garlic
-A sprinkle of salt
-A dusting of ground pepper
-A sprinkle of cumin
Step One: Gather the ingredients
Step Two: empty out ground garbanzo beans into bowl
Step Three: Put tablespoon of tahini sauce (take from bottom of jar to avoid oil) into the bowl
Step Four: Squeeze about two teaspoons of lemon into bowl, do not squeeze the entire half lemon!
Step Five: Add teaspoon of crushed garlic into bowl
Step Six: Add salt and pepper to mixture to taste
Step Seven: Mix mixture together to create the basic form of hummus
Fortunately for me, the Columbus Day dinner never happened. –Insert round of applause here- And so I avoided the embarrassment of showcasing the hummus that would remain as décor on the table, completely untouched. My dad made us barbecue instead. Since the family didn’t come, I convinced my dad not to make French fries and forced my parents and sister to eat my hummus instead. No one else was going to. And now the leftovers will sit in the fridge for months before my mom realizes it should be thrown out. Oh well. I suppose it was a healthier substitute to the French fries my dad wanted to throw in the oven!
I can’t emphasize enough-beware the amount of lemon!
I hope everyone had a nice weekend; I will be sure to post a full meal next time!
I love homemade hummus with lots of lemon! I usually add cumin, too, though–maybe that cuts the lemon-ness of it? Adding steamed, mashed sweet potatoes is also a nice twist.
That’s very interesting, I’ve never used mashed sweet potatoes with hummus. I’ll try it someday!