Hummus – Greek Food at it’s Best | Chew and Chatter

Hummus

Hummus – Greek Food at it’s Best

It was about 9 years ago that I met Joan Hadjigiannis for the first time, and on the very night she made this wonderful hummus for us. Never did I realize that it would become my favorite hummus recipe. Time and time again I would order hummus in restaurants or buy the pre-prepared products, but never have a found a recipe nicer than this one. Last week I asked Joan if she would mind sharing the recipe with all of us, and she graciously agreed.

Not only is this the tastiest recipe ever, but it is also very economical. The tahini is between $5 and $10 for a bottle or can, but you will have enough to make this recipe 10 times.

I made the hummus, and we used Johan’s basic bread dough recipe for the pita bread, but I must confes I bought the dolma in a Mediterranean store. Maybe I will be brave enough one day to try to dolmas on my own.

Ingredients 

1 15 oz. can (about 410g) of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

2 – 5 cloves garlic crushed (depending upon size and your preference for garlic)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 ml) tahini (also known as sesame paste)

¼ – ½ cup fresh lemon juice (60 ml to 125 ml) (depending upon taste) – see tip

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) cumin

Dash cayenne pepper

Fresh parsley a sprig or so

Fresh pita bread – see Basic Bread Recipe or buy prepared pita bread

Directions 

1 Drain chick peas reserving ¼ cup liquid.

2 Blend chick peas with lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, cumin and cayenne pepper gradually add some of reserved chickpea liquid 3 – 5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

3 Use either blender or food processor.

4 Place on plate or in shallow serving bowl.  Add a small amount 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the well.  Sprinkle with paprika and garnish with parsley – either chopped or whole.

5 If you decide to make the pita bread (which is really the best option.) Form bread dough into round balls slightly smaller than a tennis ball. Sprinkle flour on a surface and roll the dough with a rolling-pin until about ¼ inch thick. Place the flat bread pieces on the hot pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes on one side, and turn over. Bake 2 minutes on the other side. Remove from oven and set aside till needed.

6 You may also place small wedges of lemon around edge of serving plate.

TIPS

1 If you do not have fresh lemons you may use Minute Maid frozen lemon juice (after it is thawed) I think it is the closest to fresh

2 Don’t worry if you do not have a food processor, you can grind the chick peas with a mortal and pestle, or mash it with a potato masher or a fork. The end result will be a little coarser, but just as tasty.

 

2 Serve with Greek Dolma or Greek olives. Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions such as Russia, Middle East and the Caucasus and Central and South Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. (Wikipedia)

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