The best kept secret - organic hummus.
We had followed the tour guide at Tel Megiddo for several hours, impressed by the ancient dates of the archeological discoveries. Famished, and exhausted from the scorching heat, our tour group invaded the canopied courtyard of the quaint Middle Eastern restaurant. There, I made another discovery, almost as mind-blowing as a settlement dating from the Middle Paleolithic period, and one that would change the culinary course of my life forever; HUMMUS.
Since that day, I have bought many containers of hummus, usually to find that the taste did not even closely capture my culinary enlightening experience in Israel… Some hummus was too dry, other containers too bland, or had an odd off-taste. And all were very expensive. I then began experimenting at home, eager to produce a great hummus at home. I quickly realized that the off-taste came from canned chickpeas, and that boiling dried chickpeas took most of my day… Neither option worked well. And then, one miraculous day, I learned the secret of sprouting chickpeas… Instantly, my hummus tasted fresh, and my cooking time was reduced to minutes rather than hours. But most importantly, my hummus was now organic, and packed with previously unavailable vitamins and minerals due to the sprouting process!
You too can make delicious, organic hummus, at a fraction of the cost, and packed with nutritional goodness!
1/3 cup good-quality tahini
2–4 tablespoons cold water, or more if needed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2-3 Tbsp. of lemon juice
15 ounces of cooked sprouted chickpeas
optional toppings: extra drizzle of olive oil, chopped fresh parsley, sprinkle of ground sumac or paprika, toasted pine nuts
Puree the first seven ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Add cooked sprouted chickpeas
Puree for 3-4 minutes, or until smooth. Process till the hummus is smooth. If the hummus seems too thick, you can add in an extra tablespoon or so of water.
Taste and season. Add in extra salt, cumin and/or lemon juice as per your palate.
Garnish and serve. Add on any of the above mentioned toppings and serve!
(We followed the recipe by www.gimmesomeoven.com)
