The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Sparky on June 19, 2012, 09:24:24 PM
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I've recent become addicted to eating hummus and pita bread on the road and looking for a solid, easy to make version. Anyone come across an excellent recipe?
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I think all hummus recipes are easy enough to make and the great thing about making yourself is you can adjust it to your taste. It's basically chickpeas (garbanzos) - soaked and cooked properly else you and those around you will suffer, tahini (ground up sesame seeds - buy in a jar from a health food shop), garlic (optional), lemon juice, salt n pepper all whizzed up in a food processor. You could chuck in a bit of yoghurt (good greek stuff) to lighten it up, but the lemon juice is usually enough. Adjust relative quantities of the ingredients to taste. If the tahini isn't that oily you may want to add some olive oil. I'd start off with a cup of chickpeas, big tablespoon of tahini, juice of half a lemon, small clove of garlic and salt n pepper to taste and adjust it from there. You can buy tinned chickpeas to make life a little easier, but slightly more expensive. Some folk like a bit of cayenne pepper to add some zing.
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Even more mustachian is to buy dried garbanzos/chickpeas in bulk (yay Winco!). Slow cook them in your crock pot, then follow any of the standard hummus recipes that can be found online. My frugal pal calls her crock pot her "boyfriend" because, "He always cooks dinner for me."
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We enjoy hummus, though we haven't made it in a while. I think I need to change that... :)
We get garbanzos bulk, cook big batches, and freeze what we don't use in 2 cup packages. That way I can throw a package in the fridge when I know I'm going to make hummus. I don't have my recipe here at work, but JJ has the right idea.
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I think all hummus recipes are easy enough to make and the great thing about making yourself is you can adjust it to your taste. It's basically chickpeas (garbanzos) - soaked and cooked properly else you and those around you will suffer, tahini (ground up sesame seeds - buy in a jar from a health food shop), garlic (optional), lemon juice, salt n pepper all whizzed up in a food processor. You could chuck in a bit of yoghurt (good greek stuff) to lighten it up, but the lemon juice is usually enough. Adjust relative quantities of the ingredients to taste. If the tahini isn't that oily you may want to add some olive oil. I'd start off with a cup of chickpeas, big tablespoon of tahini, juice of half a lemon, small clove of garlic and salt n pepper to taste and adjust it from there. You can buy tinned chickpeas to make life a little easier, but slightly more expensive. Some folk like a bit of cayenne pepper to add some zing.
You don't even have to buy tahini. Just buy sesame seeds, toast em a little and put them in the processor first with some olive oil and process until processed.
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A lot of hummus recipes have a little cumin (ideally toasted) in them, which is nice. I've only recently realized that to get that sort of fluffy-creamy texture that restaurant hummus has, I need to use more oil, and blend it a little longer. Same idea as a milkshake, I guess.
When I cook my own chickpeas, I often add a little turmeric to the cooking water. Definitely makes them more digestible. And an attractive (or scary) colour.
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While you are at it, you can make your own pitas too. If you don't feel like turning on the oven, flat breads will bake nicely on an outdoor grill.
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A lot of hummus recipes have a little cumin (ideally toasted) in them, which is nice. I've only recently realized that to get that sort of fluffy-creamy texture that restaurant hummus has, I need to use more oil, and blend it a little longer. Same idea as a milkshake, I guess.
When I cook my own chickpeas, I often add a little turmeric to the cooking water. Definitely makes them more digestible. And an attractive (or scary) colour.
Yeah, you can pretty much blend hummus as long as you like. Five minutes is not uncommon when I make it. Makes it totally smooth.
Another benefit of making your own hummus: If you're using just-cooked chickpeas, it's warm. Warm hummus is awesome.
I find homemade hummus gets drier in fridge than store-bought, but since I like it warm, I just boil a little water and mix it in to hydrate and warm leftovers.
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I agree with all the above--including the range of variations. I typically don't have tahini on hand but usually will have either some sesame seeds or some sesame oil and I will toss a bit of those in instead.
One thing I do that has nothing to do with an "official" recipe really, is to chop up a bunch of light raw vegetables (e.g. cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, carrots--whatever is on l) and toss them in. I do this with guacamole too. I just find humus and guacamole to be so tasty but a little heavy for my tastes so I find this gives them a more "salad" feel to me. Plus my kids love humus and guacamole and are willing to tolerate some veggies they'd normally not thrown in.
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Even more mustachian is to buy dried garbanzos/chickpeas in bulk (yay Winco!). Slow cook them in your crock pot, then follow any of the standard hummus recipes that can be found online.
Have you found dried chickpeas cheaper? Whenever I've seen dried and canned chickpeas at a store, they are both the same price.
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That's how it is for us as well. They cost just about the same. Moreover, we can get a huge container of hummus for like $4.50 at Costco- I think it's a quart- which means making it would only save a buck or so. Perhaps if I could make it and it didn't have a godawful texture I would revisit it, though. Hmm...
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Through a bit of trial and error I have come to a pretty successful hummus recipe for my own taste. I recommend Mark Bittman's recipe as a good starting point:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Hummus-237832 (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Hummus-237832)
My recommended modifications are to roast the garlic (put the unpeeled cloves on a cast iron surface and heat until they are brown/black on the outside) and to hold off on the salt, pepper, cumin, and half of the oil until the hummus is blended, then add them to achieve the desired texture and flavor.
A note on texture: For about two years I was making hummus in my blender and although it was being homogenized, it was still a bit grainy for my liking. I have also tried an old Black and Decker 2 cup food processor with similar results. Recently, my roommate got an older Cuisinart food processor that had been sitting around in his parents' garage and I tried it. Silky smooth. I will never buy hummus again. My point is that there is a huge range of quality in blenders and food processors and that may affect your results significantly.
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I find homemade hummus gets drier in fridge than store-bought,
It keeps longer if you store it with a super thin layer of olive oil on the top. It keeps it from drying out so quickly, and then you just stir it in before you eat.
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That's how it is for us as well. They cost just about the same. Moreover, we can get a huge container of hummus for like $4.50 at Costco- I think it's a quart- which means making it would only save a buck or so. Perhaps if I could make it and it didn't have a godawful texture I would revisit it, though. Hmm...
You can probably make a quart of hummus for about $2, maybe better if more focused on sales/timing. Two 16 oz (quart) cans of chick peas are about $1.50 and the other ingredients don't add much so you would be saving $2.50 a pop - not bad and it really isn't that much work. If you only eat it once in a while then maybe not worthwhile and better to bay a bit extra for a sure thing - I started making it because my DW and kids eat it like mad (love dipping carrots) so it adds up.
The consistency thing as you mention is the hard part - I use a blender but tend to have to add oil and water to get it silky smooth. The yogurt idea mentioned above may work as well. I tried in a food processor but never could get the smoothness - maybe its due to being a crappy one.
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A new trick we learned (during the PUT SRIRACHA IN EVERYTHING! phase) is to add some Sriracha to hummus. We like spicy things, so we add more, but it adds a nice bit of flavor even if you don't use much.
mmmm, now I want hummus.
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PUT SRIRACHA IN EVERYTHING! phase
We had one of these phases too! It IS good in humus. And while this is perhaps an unwarranted SRIRACHA hijacking of a humus thread: my favorite popcorn topping is a touch of butter mixed with a lot of SRIRACHA and a little vinegar and salt.
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Even more mustachian is to buy dried garbanzos/chickpeas in bulk (yay Winco!). Slow cook them in your crock pot, then follow any of the standard hummus recipes that can be found online.
Have you found dried chickpeas cheaper? Whenever I've seen dried and canned chickpeas at a store, they are both the same price.
A pound of dried chickpeas cooks up to 3 14oz cans worth, at least (~2.25 cups in a pound, more than doubles in size when cooked, vs ~1.75 cups in a 14oz can). We can typically find cans for $1 each (about $3/lb for the same amount dry), small quantity dry for $2/lb (33% less than canned), and we recently found a restaurant supply store that carries them in 25 lb bags for .88/lb (70% less than canned).
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You can probably make a quart of hummus for about $2, maybe better if more focused on sales/timing. Two 16 oz (quart) cans of chick peas are about $1.50 and the other ingredients don't add much so you would be saving $2.50 a pop - not bad and it really isn't that much work. If you only eat it once in a while then maybe not worthwhile and better to bay a bit extra for a sure thing - I started making it because my DW and kids eat it like mad (love dipping carrots) so it adds up.
Yeah, we eat it like mad too, in rice or on pita chips and tortillas mostly. I guess I'll have to watch for chickpea sales and try and figure out the consistency thing. Between my housemate's Ninja and my Cuisinart, maybe we have a spinning blade solution that can fix the horrible, awful chunkiness problem.
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A pound of dried chickpeas cooks up to 3 14oz cans worth, at least (~2.25 cups in a pound, more than doubles in size when cooked, vs ~1.75 cups in a 14oz can). We can typically find cans for $1 each (about $3/lb for the same amount dry), small quantity dry for $2/lb (33% less than canned), and we recently found a restaurant supply store that carries them in 25 lb bags for .88/lb (70% less than canned).
Of course; I wasn't taking into account the cooked weight when I was comparing. Thanks!
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......the horrible, awful chunkiness problem.
Can't agree more on that, if I couldn't get it smooth then I would buy it. It is just not the same chunk style.
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Never had chunkiness problems with food processor.
Just use the cooking water from the chickpeas (and/or some olive oil) to thin it to a blendable consistency and blend for several minutes.
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A new trick we learned (during the PUT SRIRACHA IN EVERYTHING! phase) is to add some Sriracha to hummus.
I can't believe I've never thought of this, it sounds awesome! I know what I'm making tonight... ;)
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......the horrible, awful chunkiness problem.
Can't agree more on that, if I couldn't get it smooth then I would buy it. It is just not the same chunk style.
Another good reason to cook your own chick peas... if you know you're using them for hummus, you can cook them to soggy death. I've also heard that adding a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water breaks them down faster (especially if you have hard water).
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.... that can fix the horrible, awful chunkiness problem.
To make smooth hummus, you need to remove the chickpea skins. I would defer to Cooks Illustrated on this point, but their website is available to members only (and I no longer am one). Instead, I refer you here: http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2010/09/the-key-to-smooth-hummus/
Personally, the skins don't bother me ....
Edited to add: Also, add the lemon juice last (after processing all other ingredients); this will prevent the hummus from "seizing" (i.e. becoming peanut-butter like in consistancy).
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If you don't have tahini or sesame oil, will olive oil work just as well? Or does the sesame add a certain indispensable flavor?
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IMO the tahini does add yumminess, but it's quite acceptable to make it without if you don't have any handy (I've done so quite often). My version of hummus calls for:
Chick Peas
Tahini
Olive Oil
Garlic
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice
Quantities to taste and whatever is on hand.
For a nice presentation, top with any or all of: a drizzle of olive oil, paprika, chopped parsley, pine nuts.
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I'm a hummus junkie. I've tried many recipes. The thing that I really want to do is get that silky texture, without having to press it through a sieve (I did that once).
So here it is, from Cook's illustrated:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cooks-illustrated-restaurant-style-hummus-380146
This method of pureeing (and in what order) gets you a silky smooth hummus. You can adjust the seasonings as you like. But it's the best.
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I'm a hummus junkie. I've tried many recipes. The thing that I really want to do is get that silky texture, without having to press it through a sieve (I did that once).
So here it is, from Cook's illustrated:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cooks-illustrated-restaurant-style-hummus-380146
This method of pureeing (and in what order) gets you a silky smooth hummus. You can adjust the seasonings as you like. But it's the best.
Thank you! I never could figure out a way to get that lovely smooth, fluffy texture. I'll definitely try this.
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IMO the tahini does add yumminess, but it's quite acceptable to make it without if you don't have any handy (I've done so quite often).
Apologies in advance for the bump, but I just found this thread and make Hummus every week. Love the stuff!
Tahini adds more than yumminess - the combination of tahini and chickpeas are what make hummus a complete protein source. Like some other classic combinations (such as beans and rice, whole wheat bread and peanut butter, or bean soup/chili and crackers) that places hummus in a fairly small category of vegetarian dishes that provide all of the essential amino acids.
I like to add a few fresh chopped serrano peppers in mine for a little heat. Often I'll add the hummus to chopped celery and tomatoes to give a nice dish with flavor and crunch.
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I appreciate the bump. I'm a huge hummus fan. Just have to add that I pressure cook my chickpeas. Takes almost no time.
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Baba Ganoush is my favorite alternative to hummus. I'm allergic to chickpeas so I can't have regular hummus. I need to try making it with other beans instead of chickpeas.
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Try edamame.
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Adding to this because I just found the BEST hummus recipe. This one has you whip up the tahini before adding the rest of the ingredients and oh my goodness did it turn out well. It was basically like making tahini whipped cream and then adding everything else. It turns out very light and fluffy!
http://www.inspiredtaste.net/15938/easy-and-smooth-hummus-recipe/
I use more lemon juice than it calls for, skip the cumin, and add a fresh herb like parsley. I also use a blender instead of a food processor for smooth hummus.
Mashing everything up with a fork is fun, too! With this version I roast the garlic first and mash it into a chunky spread.