Fresh Hummus Recipe - with Tahini

Fresh Hummus

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. fresh chickpeas in pods (or 2 cups of garbanzo beans, drained)

1/3 cup of tahini (See recipe below)

¼ cup of lemon juice

2 garlic cloves

pinch of cayenne

pinch of sweet paprika

1 tbs. cumin seeds, toasted, ground

3 tablespoon cilantros, roughly chopped

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

salt to taste

1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds, lightly crushed

additional olive oil, sunflower seeds, sweet paprika, cayenne, and veggies, pita bread or crackers, to serve

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Shell the chickpeas and discard the pods. There should be about 3 cups of fresh chickpeas. Boil the chickpeas until they are tender but not mushy, about 2 minutes. Drain. (If using the canned garbanzo beans, you do not need to boil, just drain.)

Place the chickpeas in a food processor with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cayenne, paprika, cumin seeds, cilantro, and olive oil. Blend until smooth.

Season hummus with salt. Stir in sesame seeds.

To serve, drizzle the hummus with olive oil and sprinkle with sunflower seeds and paprika, cayenne, and cilantro. Complement with veggies, pita bread, or pita crackers.

Calories per severing, about 80

Store:

Place inside covered airtight container, keeps for 4 to 7 days. You can freeze in heavy duty freezer bag.

Homemade Tahini

Tahini is very simple to make.

Ingredients

2 to 4 cups of sesame seeds, hulled

2 to 3 tablespoons of light olive, avocado, or grape seed oil

Pinch of salt, optional

Instructions:

Add sesame seeds to a wide, dry saucepan over medium-low heat and toast, stirring constantly until the seeds become fragrant and very lightly colored (not brown), 3 to 5 minutes. Careful here, sesame seeds can burn quickly. Transfer toasted seeds to a baking sheet or large plate and cool completely.

Add sesame seeds to the bowl of a food processor then process until a crumbly paste, about 1 minute.

Add 3 tablespoons of the oil then process for 2 to 3 minutes more, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the food processor a couple of times. Check the tahini’s consistency. It should be smooth, not gritty, and should be pourable.

You may need to process for another minute or add the additional tablespoon of oil.

Taste the tahini for seasoning then add salt to taste. Process 5 to 10 seconds to mix it in.

Storing

Store tahini covered in the refrigerator for one month. You may notice it separates over time, like a natural peanut butter would. If this happens, give the tahini a good stir before using. You can freeze to extend the shelf life.