Homemade Hummus Dip

I first was introduced to hummus sometime during college by my nursing school best friend, Dana. She was the model foodie. Loved to cook, loved to eat, but was super cute and skinny, and mostly ate healthy. I was always trying to model my intake after her. Hummus was immediately interesting to me as it seemed as earthy and granola as I wanted to be, as well as very tasty!

I soon became a connoisseur of hummus with my favorites in Knoxville coming from the Fresh Market (grocery store) and the restaurant Sunspot (where they had a delicious black bean hummus). I learned I did not like the brand Athenos in hummus... and that if I had to buy a store bought brand Sabra was probably the best (although I did like some variations in the "Tribe" brand).  When I moved to San Antonio, I spent one day driving to multiple restaurants and grocery stores buying various brands of hummus, looking for the best one in the area. (Conclusion: The Turquoise Grill off of 410 and Fredericksburg Rd.;  Central Market brands are also pretty good.)

There are certain foods, restaurants, and styles that my sister refers to as "Jessi-friendly"...  Hummus is one such food.  Shortly after she moved to Rochester, MN she called to tell me that she had found he cutest "Jessi-friendly" grocery store (Trader Joe's) as well as some to-die-for hummus at a restaurant called Daube's.  I couldn't wait to visit them both!

Daube's hummus is quite possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever put in my mouth. It was better even than the Fresh Market hummus in Knoxville -- and that is saying A LOT.  I've written down all of the ingredients that the container lists (it's homemade), so I am hoping that someday I will figure the secret out.

The one thing I did figure out from my Daube's experience was why it is I don't really like store-bought hummus.  They are all too smooth.  I guess it's really like the difference between pulp and no pulp, crunchy PB or creamy PB... Van actually prefers smooth hummus, and is thus satisfied with Sabra (easy enough because it's in all stores)... but I like textured hummus (which Daube's is). I sort of like little bits of the chickpea still being visible and tasted.  It seems fresher that way. And it does not encourage my gag reflex, which large amounts of too smooth textured foods will do.

I have made various homemade hummus recipes, with many of them being terrible. But I have finally found and adapted one that I really like.  I have successfully re-created a good tasting hummus with this recipe on more than one attempt (so that seems to insinuate it wasn't just luck the first time.)

If you haven't tried hummus before, you should!

Classic Hummus Recipe:
3 C chickpeas, drained
3 garlic cloves
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C tahini
salt and pepper to taste
3 TBSP lemon juice

So I like to make my chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) fresh. You could buy them and drain them from a can, but I feel like it's healthier making them with dried beans... so what I do is I put the chickpeas on the stove or in my little 8 qt bean crockpot and cook ... I put one cup of dried chickpeas with about 6 cups of water, 1/4 C of olive oil, and a tsp. of salt.  I cook them for however long they need to cook (if on the stove a couple of hours + adding water as needed,  and if in the crockpot more like all day...)

I made some hummus this evening.  I put the chickpeas in the crockpot this morning around 11 when I left, and when I got home around dinner, they were ready to be turned into a yummy hummus.

I put all of the ingredients in my food processor at one time and mix. I don't add any of the chickpea juice because I like my hummus drier (which will make it more textured), and I am careful not to puree too long with the processor (as to keep it sort of chunky).  If you like it smooth, though, you can add a little more olive oil or juice from the chickpeas.

I added 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper... but I ended up thinking it needed a little more salt. So I added another 1/8 tsp.

And it turned out delicious.

If you want to get creative, you could add some red bell pepper or whatever else to the food processor to give it a less classic taste. But personally, I like it just the way it's written above!

Eat it with carrots, celery, bell peppers, pita chips, or pitas... use to replace mayonnaise with burgers... it has a million different ways to eat it. :)  Good and good for you... can't beat that!