Hummus – Middle Eastern Style!

I have been eating hummus my entire life; literally for as long as I can remember. Hummus is a chick pea based dish that is sure to win you over. Sunday brunches in my Middle Eastern family were equipped with plates of hummus. Not only is it extremely yummy and healthy but super easy to make. You won’t be buying it anymore after you see this recipe; homemade is always better folks! Hummus primarily functions as a dip with pita or vegetables such as carrots; which I discovered several years back on a plane traveling to Spain. I was served hummus with carrots and thought, Wow this really does work great together! It is the perfect light appetizer for your next gathering 🙂

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups of chick peas (I’ve always used the Goya brand)

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (1/2 a lemon’s juice)

2 tablespoons of tahini

Pinch of Cumin (optional)

Sumac & chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

• Take your 2 cups of chick peas and drain it of its water but keep the liquid that was drained and place aside. You will be using a small portion of it. Place these drained chick peas into the processor or blender. Blend the peas for a few seconds.
• Then add the salt, olive oil, cumin, lemon juice, and tahini to the chick peas and blend for another minutes. Slowly, begin adding your liquid (approx 2 tablespoons) that was drained from the chick peas to slightly loosen the mixture and give a little more flavor. Mix all this till smooth.
• I like to garnish my hummus with sumac, parsley, and a homemade jalapeno based sauce to give it some heat and tang. This is great appetizer or side dish. I’ll be serving it today with some chicken kebab skewers and an apple walnut feta salad! A nutritious Mediterranean plate to say the least 🙂