If you’re at all familiar with the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you must remember the “Mooscaca” scene! You can watch it here (@ 3:00 is the scene I’m talking about). That was my childhood! Being Armenian with a family from Egypt, my Mother didn’t know anything about Wonderbread. Or any sliced bread, for that matter. All of our sandwiches were on pita bread. And many times, there was hummus in that pita. This was over forty thirty years ago (stop trying to do the math!). No one in suburban New Jersey was eating pita bread or hummus for lunch. Except for me. I would beg my Mom to buy Wonderbread. “Pleeeeeeaaaase can I just take a peanut butter and jelly on Wonderbread!” She’d reply “Hokees (sweetheart, in Armenian), why would you want to eat that when this is so good?” Sigh. I’d cringe as I looked into my lunchbox.
So, it’s not like I think I have any claim to hummus, but do I feel like it’s mine. I’m kidddddding! A little. It’s just that this is the type of food that was a staple in our home and back then, I felt like an oddball eating it! Now, it’s everywhere. Hummus is so popular that some tobacco farmers are switching to farming chickpeas instead of tobacco! So, I kind of feel like, well, my hummus is pretty darn good. Who knew that some of my most major hangups over food would pay off someday?
One of the wonderful things that has come to me because of my crazy relationship with food is this blog. Over the past few months, I’ve seen it grow and I’ve been hearing really sweet things from my awesome readers. You’ve all been so kind and supportive, I’d like to give a little something to you! Enter to win a $25 gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond courtesy of Taste Love & Nourish. I know I can always find a little something every time I go there! I love that store! Enter below! Good luck and thank you!
Hummus
29 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1/3 cup tahini
juice of one lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
up to 1/3 cup water (start with less and add a bit more if you need to thin it out)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling on top
3/4 teaspoon salt
a bit of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes
toasted or grilled pita bread or assorted veggies for serving
Combine the ingredients up to the garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with some crushed red pepper flakes.
Notes:
- I don’t add a lot of olive oil while processing. I feel that the flavor of the oil gets lost. I like to use the best quality extra virgin olive oil I can and use it more as a garnish. That way you really taste the fruity flavor on your tongue.
- I don’t use a ton of fresh garlic in this for a reason. I think raw garlic can be overwhelming. If I roast garlic beforehand, I add a lot more than the one clove. Roasted garlic is mellow, sweet and delicious. To roast a head of garlic, cut a bit of the top off to expose the cloves, place the garlic in a bit of aluminum foil, drizzle with a tiny, tiny bit of olive oil and roast in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the garlic. To test, just give it a light squeeze. If it’s softened, it’s done!
Just made your hummus! DIVINE, incredibly simple, clean, and perfectly balanced in every way! I will never waste money on the store-bought hummus again. After trying this, I can’t see a reason why anyone would ever want the store-bought stuff. Even the so-called “gourmet” brands of hummus are inferior to this. Wow-thanks so much from you fan in South Carolina!
Well, Lisa…let me tell you…I’ve got a grin from ear to ear going on right now! Truly! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed this hummus so much! I make it at least once a week and I agree…so much better than store-bought and so much more economical too! Thanks for putting a smile on my face today…you are the sweetest! xo
I’ll bet your mom never used canned chickpeas. Try the real thing it is a world of difference
Hahaha, yes Dennie, actually, she did use canned chickpeas at times. I do know what you mean, though. I cook my own beans in big batches and freeze them for later, but for convenience sake, I like to give people the recipe using canned. You can certainly substitute with your own prepared beans. They’ll be wonderful in this recipe!
I cannot believe I JUST found this recipe. You see soooo many people’s versions of recipes you want to try but they all taste different. I have been looking for a Hummus recipe that was originated from an Armenian because my husband is an Armenian-Cypriot and he absolutely LOVES his native food. I have tried several recipes from his mom and sisters but Hummus is not one that they provided.
I can’t wait to try this and look forward to more Armenian treasures. :)
Jessica, what a sweet message! I hope that you and your hubby like this version! I can’t promise that it’s authentically Armenian…but, it’s based on the way my Mom always made it. I’d love to hear what you think of it! Kudos to you for cooking Armenian food for your husband! He’s a lucky guy!
The Roasted Balsamic Chicken with Artichoke sounds great!
Thanks so much Ashley! I love that chicken dish!
can’t wait to try this!
I’ve made this before (my mom found the recipe somewhere) and it is soooo good!
Glad you like it Larae!
Thanks for posting this! I love Hummus!
You are very welcome and thank YOU Paula for stopping by! I love it too and it’s a really healthy snack or lunch! :)
I just discovered your blog on food gawker, so I’m not really familiar with it yet. I gave it a look see, and being gluten-intolerent and on a low-carb diet (Paleo, actually), it narrowed down the list quite a bit. HOWEVER, the blueberry cobbler smoothie looks INCREDIBLE and I plan on trying it the next time I have frozen blueberries! I’ll substitute almond meal for the flaxseed and it’ll be 100% diet friendly. Lovely blog, and thanks for the contest!
I’m so glad you stopped by, Rebecca! I have recently noticed a greater need for Paleo recipes and would like to put more of them up in the near future. I’m glad you like that Blueberry Cobbler Smoothie! That one actually was featured on a Paleo site not too long ago. I LOVE your idea of adding almond meal instead of flax. That would really taste delicious! I will definitely keep the Paleo diet in mind when developing recipes and will try to include alternatives for recipes that may not be completely Paleo. Glad you entered the contest and best of luck to you!
Your French Mushroom Soup with the toast points looks yummy … I’d like to try it!
Thanks so much Liz! I love that soup too! :)
I sure wish I had hummus and pita lunches growing up! This looks great — maybe I should start packing it with me for lunch now :)
Ilan, I think you absolutely should! :) Thank you for making me smile and for stopping by!
Oh, humus is so good. I made some a couple of days ago and it was lovely. And I bet so was yours. Great pics by the way.
Hugs from Sweden
Ella
Thank you so much Ella! I love hummus too. I’m so glad you stopped in! Hugs back! :)
Oh, if only my mother would have packed hummus sandwiches in my lunch as a kid! I was that oddball that detested peanut butter and chocolate milk, so most days it was cheese and ketchup sandwiches. (I cringe at the thought today).
Renee, you just gave me the best laugh! I love it! Please tell me you’ve outgrown your aversion to peanut butter and chocolate milk! ;) Thanks for sharing your funny story! I love it!
So proud of my little sister, you are the best love you and so looking forward to see you.
Awww…I love you! Can’t wait to see you!
I’ve never actually tried hummus, always thought of it as a “Andrew Zimmern” sort of thing, but all it is is chickpeas! Thanks for the recipe, I’m definitely gonna try some out.
Danielle, you’ve got me laughing so hard! I’m so glad you found that hummus is harmless! :) I’d love to hear back how you liked it! Thank you so much for entering and best of luck to you!
You had me laughing all the way through your post! I can somewhat identify. I grew up on a small farm and my Mom insisted we have our sandwiches on whole wheat bread. So our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were on whole wheat. Ick! I too asked my Mom to buy white bread for our peanut butter sandwiches to which she replied, “never!” LOL! I love hummus and your recipe sounds delish. Thanks for sharing and Happy Weekend :)
Karista, and here we are after all of these years, carrying our scars of childhood and blogging about them! ;) I’m so glad it gave you a laugh and that you like the hummus! Happy Weekend to you too!
I’ve never thought about putting lemon zest in my hummus. I’ll be making this on the weekend- it looks delicious!
I’m so glad you’ll be making this Christina! Let me know how you like it! I didn’t always add the lemon zest, but once I did, I loved it! It just really enhances the fresh lemony taste. It’s so nice against the richness of the other ingredients. Thank you for entering and best of luck!
The French Mushroom Soup with Gruyere Toasts recipe sounds great & I would like to try it soon.
Oh, I love the French Mushroom too, Kelly! The cheesy top is SO GOOD! :) Thank you so much for stopping by and good luck to you!
The Shrimp and Feta Risotto sounds so good! I have been looking for a good shrimp recipe and have not found anything even similar to this one! I plan to make it soon! Thanks.
Thanks so much Carolsue! I hope you do give that risotto a try! It’s one of my favorites! :) Thanks so much for entering and best of luck!
Oh my that does sound so good. Putting it on my list of recipes to try!
Thank you Cindi! I’m so happy you’re going to try this…let me know how you like it! Thank you for entering and good luck! :)