I really like hummus but I am not a huge fan of the stuff you can buy at the grocery store. The store-bought stuff just doesn't compare to freshly made hummus (I love the stuff from the Syrian Deli, but it's kind of spendy). It isn't very hard to make a really good, cheap homemade version.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of chick peas, drained
- 1-2 tablespoons of tahini paste
- 3-6 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons of paprika
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- salt
- cayenne, hot Mexican chili powder, hot Hungarian paprika (optional)
This next part was the tricky part, getting the flavors correct. I added a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of paprika, mixed it in, tasted, and added more salt if necessary. It is easy to put in too much tahini and get sort of a bitter flavor to the hummus. I always start on the low end (about 1 teaspoon -> 1 tablespoon) and add a small amount more during the tasting stage. I like it where I can just start to taste the bitterness of the tahini, but it still isn't the main flavor. I've found this varies a lot based on the brand of tahini and the consistency (the thicker it is, the stronger the flavor will be). Next, you'll want to adjust the lemon flavor; I like it very lemony so I usually go pretty heavy on it. I like it spicy, so I'll usually put in a pinch of cayenne, hot Mexican chili powder, and/or hot Hungarian paprika.
After transferring the mixture to a bowl, I topped with the olive oil and remaining paprika.
Variation (no tahini)
When I'm out of tahini (or not in the mood for it) and craving hummus, I'll substitute about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and about 2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt. The yogurt makes it really creamy and gives a less-"in your face" bitter flavor.
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