Hummus

I got the idea in my head that I am going to be very healthy for the new solstice, in mind, spirit, and body. A hummus wrap sounded okay... but a homemade hummus wrap where I was in control of those garbanzo beans sounded pretty good. I made hummus once before by roasting my own peppers. It was good but I wasn't crazy about the combination, it got some rave reviews from taste testers, but being my own critic or maybe just a skeptic of garbanzo beans... yuck.

I opened my New York Times cookbook for a simple basic recipe which received serious modifications. It called for scallions, all I had was onion and it gave the hummus a real bite. It called for 3/4 cup of lemon juice, all I had was one lemon. Since the onion was more potent than the scallions would have been the reduced lemon juice turned out to be key to a solid hummus. In the spirit of my previous attempt at hummus I took the remaining store bought roasted red pepper and sliced it up and added it to the blender. I did not know if I would like it or even taste it. Next time I will add a little more roasted red pepper, it added a subtle flavor that sweetened up the batch.

This hummus turned out to be real experiment, and successful one. You should try!

Shopping List:

• 2 cups of garbanzo beans
• 2/3 cup of tahini (sesame paste)
• 1/3 cup of fresh chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
• 1 chopped roasted red pepper
• 1 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic - pressed
• 1 tsp of salt

Putting it together:

1. Add all ingredients except for the parsley into a food processor.
2. Hit the button and watch the garbanzo beans combine. If they aren't blending well slowly add a little bit of water. I like my hummus to be thick and chunky. By adding water you will make it smoother and creamier. ( Do not add more than 3/4 a cup)
3. Stir in the parsley and crack the freshly ground pepper to taste.
4. Eat!

Notes:

- You can add anything you like in hummus to the hummus. I liked the roasted red pepper and parsley, but if you aren't a fan you could add other combinations that you know you like in a dip. The key is adding these new ingredients in small amounts.
 - The onion is a bold flavor, try replacing them with scallions if you don't like that onion zing or if you want to try something new.