Classic Hummus...

I love hummus - who doesn’t - I love it, and I make it often. It’s one of my favorite foods, and it’s often a saving grace when it comes to eating healthfully - and sometimes just plain eating - as a vegan traveler. No matter where you go, no matter how small the town, or how vegan-unfriendly the city, someone, somewhere has hummus. It seems to be universally loved, and it seems that everyone and their mother has a personal hummus recipe that they like best.

When it comes to hummus I don’t care if it’s thick, thin, creamy, extra-creamy, or a little textured. I love them all just so long as the flavor is good. That’s that’s really the key, because hummus just ain’t no good if it’s bland or boring. I don’t mean that you have to dress it up and make if fancy - although I love that too - I just mean that when it comes to a good hummus you should be able to taste the nutty tahini, the tart lemon, the bitter cumin, and the garlic, oh gods the garlic!  Hummus without garlic is like a hand without fingers. You definitely, definitely need the garlic!

For years and years I used to make hummus with canned chickpeas and the result was always good it comes out smooth and creamy like I like, and the flavor is wonderful. Until this year I had never made hummus with dried beans before, and this is because my old stove just wasn’t up to the challenge of cooking a bean as hard as the garbanzo. I don’t know why this is, but no matter how long I cooked them on the stove they never got soft. Now my new stove cooks these things like a champ in about an hour, and I have to say the flavor of hummus with home-cooked beans is really out of this world.

Another thing I love about hummus is that it’s so versatile. Really as long as you have chickpeas you can do basically anything else you like. You can season it with whatever you have on hand, and often times while I’ve been on vacations where I’ve had access to a kitchen - or at least a food processor - I’ve been able to whip up hummus using almond butter instead of tahini, lime juice instead of lemon, garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. Hell I’ve even used basil, oregano, curry, and other random seasonings to flavor it when I didn’t have enough cumin. It’s easy, simple, filling and oh so satisfying!

For the sake of your convenience you can use either canned or home-cooked in this recipe, but I highly recommend you trying the home-cooked method, because it really is amazing. So here I go tossing my hat into the ring and adding another hummus recipe into the

Classic Hummus 

2 ½ C Home-Cooked Chickpeas (about 1 heaping cup dried)
4-6 Garlic cloves
3 tsp Ground Cumin
2 tsp Ground Coriander
3/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
½ tsp Onion Powder
5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
6 Tbsp Tahini
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1/3C -2/3C water - (Or enough to reach your desired consistency, the more you use the creamier and thinner the hummus)


- Combine the chickpeas and the garlic in a food processor and process until you have corse crumbs.

- Add in the spices, salt, pepper, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil. Process until you have a thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

- Add in the water and process until you have a smooth creamy dip. Add enough water to reach your desired consistency. This may take a few minutes depending on your processor and you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.

- Scrape the hummus out into a serving dish and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, some smoked paprika or a dash of cayenne pepper, and a little minced cilantro. Enjoy as a dip for veggies or toasted pita or forget the serving dish and use the hummus in a wrap, on a sandwich, scooped onto a salad, spread out onto some falafels, or spread across some socca. Enjoy!