Our Recipes

Hummus is the perfect food for kids and family of any age and for any meal. Garbanzo beans blended with a little tahini paste (which is simply ground sesame seeds), a few shakes of cumin and some lemon ... there is nothing better. Throwing in some vegetables into the hummus while blending adds another layer of flavor and nutrition.

Found in a 2005 Bon Appetit magazine, let this be your basic hummus recipe. But this time, try it with the red pepper just to know how wonderful this tastes with fresh raw vegetables, whole grain pita or whole grain bread, or use as a spread in sandwiches instead of mayonaise. Needless to say, pairing vegetables and hummus is a fantastic item in a packed lunch for your kids or yourself!

And providing your portion of hummus has at least three heaped tablespoons of chickpeas, it counts for one serving of the five of vegetables you should eat per day.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Hummus by Mark Bitman Bon Appetit

2 cups drained well-cooked or canned garbanzo beans/chickpeas, liquid reserved

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste), optional, with some of its oil

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling

2 cloves garlic, peeled, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon ground cumin or paprika, or to taste, plus a sprinkling for garnish

Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed

1 Red Pepper (optional) or try roasted eggplant, blanched spinach, artichoke, etc.

Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Preparation

Hummus by Mark Bitman Bon Appetit

If using roasted red pepper, see Prep Ideas below.  

1. Put everything except the parsley in a food processor and begin to process; add the chickpea liquid or water as needed to allow the machine to produce a smooth puree. (Use liquid sparingly!)

2. Taste and adjust the seasoning (I often find I like to add much more lemon juice). Serve, drizzled with the olive oil and sprinkled with a bit more cumin or paprika and some parsley.

Prep Ideas

To roast a red pepper: you can go the this link for every detailed step in roasting red peppers, or do this: 

Oven-roasting method:

1. Preheat oven to 425°.  
2. Clean the red pepper of dirt and labels. Cut in half lengwise. Remove seeds and white pith. Place on oiled sheet pan or use parchment paper.
3. Roast for 20 minutes. Rotate peppers. Roast for 20 minutes more. 
4. Wrap warm peppers in aluminum foil or invert a bowl over them for 20 minutes to loosen skin. With a kitchen or paper towel, rub the red pepper until all skin and charred rememnants are removed.

Gas stove top method:

1. Clean the red pepper of dirt and labels.
2. Place whole pepper on top of medium low flame. Using long tongs, rotate pepper a little at a time until entire pepper is charred. 
3. Wrap warm peppers in aluminum foil or invert a bowl over them for 20 minutes to loosen skin. With a kitchen or paper towel, rub the red pepper until all skin and charred rememnants are removed.
4. Cut in half lengwise. Remove stem, seeds and white membrane inside pepper. 

Good Food Thoughts

Take this fun quiz to gain even more understanding of daily legume and vegetable servings. 

Try using organic garbanzo beans, if you can. I use the can mostly but when I've prepared the hummus using dried garbanzo beans I cooked myself, the taste really pops. If you have the time, it's worth it.

Equipment Needed

sharpened chefs knife

cutting board with non-slip mat

blender or food processor

baking sheet

metal tongs