Easy Hummus

This is an easy, delicious and healthy recipe. You only need a few ingredients and a food processor. This is the classic recipe for hummus and there are lots of variations so feel free to experiment. Once you've tried the home cooked version you'll wonder why you ever bought the ready made version. In addition to tasting better its fresher and significantly cheaper. The grocery store sells a small tub for more than what this entire recipe costs and you'll get anywhere from 6 to 10 times the amount!

Cooked chick peas is the preferred option but canned are fine when in a pinch for time. If using canned chick peas make sure to rinse them well. The canned products tend to have more salt.

If using an instant pot, cooked chick peas are a breeze. Soak them overnight or for about 6 to 8 hours. Soaking is best, although you can cook them longer in the instant pot if they were not pre-soaked.

After soaking rinse off the chick peas and add them to the instant pot adding just enough water to cover them. If you add to much water there will be lots of excess water after cooking.

Then just cook them on high pressure for about 15 to 18 minutes. Rinse and cool and they are ready to use for the recipe below.

Another option is the good old fashioned 'boil over the stovetop' approach. Add the chick peas to a pot with several inches of water and set it to a gentle boil for about an hour and a half to two hours. Much faster with the instant pot!

One last thing about cooking your own chick peas that you can do, but is totally optional. After boiling add the cooked chick peas to ice cold water. The skin of the chick peas will just fall off and float to the top. Just use you hands and scoop off the skins. The hummus will have a smoother consistency if you add this extra step to the recipe.

So, now that we have all the preparation steps out of the way, let's see the recipe!

Mixture items:

* 3 Cups of cooked chick peas or canned chick peas. I prefer cooked, but canned are fine, just be sure to rinse them really well.

* 1/3 Cup Tahini. This is simply sesame seeds that have been whipped up. Make sure to stir it well before using. The oil will tend to settle to the top after a while.

* 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil. If you are on a Plant based Whole food diet, you can leave it out. The traditional recipe calls for it.

* 1 Fresh Lemon, squeezed, leave out the seeds. I use a hand tools that looks like a large drill head made of plastic. It does a good job of extracting the juice and small bits of pulp that add flavour.

* 1 Teaspoon salt

* 1 Teaspoon cumin powder

* 1/2 Cup Cold Water. This really helps create the smooth, creamy flavour.

* Garlic. This is optional. A lot of people find digesting garlic difficult. Try roasting the garlic first which may help.

Toppings:

* Chopped, fresh parsley

* Paprika

* Olive oil

Add the mixture items to the food processor adding the water gradually. Let the processor do the work. When the hummus is nice and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes, refrigerate the mixture and then serve, adding the chopped parsley, olive oil and paprika topping as shown above. Hummus is good ob crackers, pita bread, a side dish with a salad, fresh veggie dip, etc..

Enjoy!