Hummus

Hummus is a Middle-Eastern dish made with chick peas, tahini, oil, and lemon juice. It is a staple dish throughout the Middle East, especially in Israel, where it is dolloped on falafel or served separately with fluffy warm pita bread. When done right, it is one of my all time favorite foods.

Some old family friends who had spent many years in Israel first introduced me to hummus back when I was in middle school. They made their own, and I still remember all the dinners at their house with the plate of hummus and pita. They once told me the secret to good hummus is to keep pureeing it until it was absolutely smooth. In fact, they said, it took them a while to find a food processor that wouldn't burn out after a couple of batches.

This is my own recipe, a result of many years of trial and error, and many burned out food processors.

Although in my youth, hummus was relatively unknown, it has since become a staple American food, along with tacos, pizza, spaghetti, and bagels. Gotta love that old American melting pot. I just wish we could get Americans to pronounce it correctly. The word is properly pronounced "hoo-moos", not "huh-muss". This is important, and hearing it mispronounced makes the hairs stand up on my arm, just the way it bothers me when I hear the 'l's pronounced in tortilla, or when I hear phrases like "good morning" mispronounced as "get up you idiot, you're late for work."

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked, strained chickpeas (2 15-oz cans)
• ⅔ cup tahini
• 2 pressed cloves garlic
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• additional water as needed

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Replace food processor as needed.