Hummus (Easy and Delicious!)

Remember that fantastic Middle Eastern and Greek inspired feast I told you about last week? As promised, here’s the hummus recipe I made as an appetizer to go along with my feast. You guys, I just know you’re going to love this hummus! In fact, I don’t think you’ll ever go for store bought hummus again after you try it. Not only is this hummus recipe totally simple and only takes like five to ten minutes to make; but it is so, so good. It’s incredibly flavorful, which I think is awesome considering you only need three spices plus some salt on hand for seasoning. But, being bold with plenty of garlic, and adding touches of smokey paprika, and cumin, end up creating some big flavor here. What can I say, sometimes being totally simple is just the ticket.

You can top the hummus with a splash of olive oil and some fresh or dried herbs of your choice to really make a gorgeous presentation when serving it as an appetizer; but honestly the hummus has amazing flavor as is, so don’t bother if you don’t feel like it. Either way, you really can’t go wrong serving this as an appetizer, or an afternoon snack. Make sure you have plenty of good dip-ables (Flatbread, Nann, Pita Chips, fresh cut veggies!) on hand because you’re going to need them! Enjoy! 

Hummus– Yields about 1 and 1/2 cups. Adapted from Give Me Some Oven.

• 3 TBSP Tahini -or- Three TBSP toasted sesame seeds + 2 additional Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt (kosher or sea salt)
• 1/2 cup water + additional as needed
• 2 TBSP olive oil + additional for serving, if desired
• black pepper to taste
• fresh chopped or dried herbs of your choice for serving, if desired 

1. If toasting your own sesame seeds, place them in a small skillet over medium high heat, stirring frequently until lightly browned on all sides. Transfer toasted sesame seeds into the food processor, and add the additional two tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until the sesame seeds have been broken up. 

2. If using tahini instead of toasting your own sesame seeds, disregard step one and add the tahini to the food processor. 

3.  Put the can of chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, water and olive oil, in the food processor. Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. (This can take a good five minutes.) Add additional water if needed to achieve a creamy texture, but don’t allow the hummus to get runny. After blended add pepper to taste, and run the food processor for an additional minute to incorporate pepper.

4. If desired, you can top the hummus with a splash of olive oil and fresh or dried herbs for a great presentation. Serve with plenty of pita chips, flatbread, or cut veggies for scooping! Store hummus in the fridge in an airtight container for three days.