Chuumus recipe

 This recipe requires a food processor or blender.

 You need to start with cooked chuumus. This recipe assumes you already have that, but if you don't, there are many ways to cook chuumus. If you don't want to fuss, start with a can from the supermarket. Last time I did this, I started with frozen chuumus in a package, and cooked it for a while. It took a long time to soften, and I ended up adding a little baking soda, which sped up the process.

 If you're picky like me and want the chuumus to be extra smooth, you will want to remove the outer shells. The easiest way I know of to do this is to drop the chuumus into a pot of water, reach in with your hands, rub the beans between your hands and drop them. Get another handful, keep doing it. The shells float to the top, they're easy to get rid of. This can be time consuming, and isn't critical, but the more shells you remove, the smoother it will be.

Ingredients:

  • about 250 grams of chuumus beans (chick peas, garbanzos) 
  • about 60 ml lemon juice
  • about 60 ml techina (stir it first)
  • 1 or 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons water

The order is important here. Add techina and lemon juice to the blender, mix for a minute, scrape the sides, mix a little more. Add the olive oil, garlic, cumin, and salt, and process for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides, and process another 30 seconds. Add about half of the chummus, process for about a minute, scrape and add the rest, process for about another two minutes. You want it to be very smooth now. This is where you can add a little water at a time and blend some more so it gets very creamy. Taste it, add a little salt if necessary.

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