Hummus

Turkish style Hummus

Whizz the drained chick peas in a food processor.  Add the tahini paste and continue processing until smooth.  Add a little hot water if the mixture becomes too stiff.  Add the lemon juice and continue processing.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the olive oil and natural yoghurt.  Season to taste and dress with a little more olive oil and sprinkling of paprika.

Hummus Stuffed Portobello

Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly coat mushrooms with olive oil and roast, stem side up, for 10 minutes.  Mix together hummus, garlic, tomato, oregano, and pepper.  Pour mixture into mushrooms.  Roast 10 more minutes.  Garnish with pine nuts.

Simple Hummus Recipe

Soak 1 cup dried chickpeas in 2 to 3 cups of water for at least 8 hours (I usually do it overnight).Drain the water off of the chickpeas. Pour 3 cups of fresh water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the chickpeas, cover the pot, and simmer on low heat for about 2 hours (they blend much better this way).While the chickpeas are cooking you should prepare the the garlic cloves by roasting them. To roast a clove of garlic you can simply stick a metal tong or fork in it and hold it over a flame, turning it frequently.Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain all of the water out of the pot. Put some of the chickpeas in a blender with some of the minced garlic cloves (do not put too many chickpeas or they will not blend). Blend them well. Dump the blended chickpeas into a mixing bowl. Continue this process until all the chickpeas and garlic cloves are blended.Mix in the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, paprika, and salt. Mash up any inconsistencies in mixture while mixing so the hummus has a smooth consistency. Add water as necessary to thin the mixture, but make sure not to add too much or you will have runny hummus.Variations:If you have canned chickpeas instead of dried ones, you can use 2 cups of canned chickpeas and skip right to the cooking.If you are not able to roast the garlic, you can use half as many garlic cloves and leave the garlic raw.

Hummus Avocado Crackers

Arrange crackers on serving plate and spead each with hummus.Thinly slice avocado and onions and place 2 pieces of avacado and few strips of onion onto each cracker.Sprinkle with blue cheese and lime.Add salt and pepper for taste and serve immediately.Serves 4.