Food Storage Friday: Hummus

I had all sorts of crazy expectations about finishing all my posts before leaving on vacation, but it didn't materialize. So, a big thank you to my husband (known as 'Mountain Man' on the Internet) for making the food storage Friday recipe this week. I had anticipated using this bare bones recipe, but due to a lack of cell coverage/time zone difference, Mountain Man just made up his own, and according to him, it's delicious.


Start out with garbanzo beans or chickpeas (same thing different name). You can use canned beans and head straight to the recipe, or use dried and do a little prep work first. Canned beans are handy to have around when you are in a hurry, but dried beans are less expensive and easier to store since they are 1/3 the size of canned (refer to Wednesday's post for more bean information).


This were dried chickpeas which were given a quick soak. The instructions are on the package, but you just cover them with water, bring to a boil for a minute or two, and then let simmer for an hour. After this you can drain them and stick them in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for a few months.

Ingredients: Chickpeas, Lemon juice, Sesame Seed oil (Tahini), garlic, curry powder

Mountain Man did a great job for having it sprung on him at the last minute, no complaints there. But for a more practical food storage recipe, revert to the recipe link at the top, or check out all these different types of hummus here, or just plan on substituting garlic powder out for the garlic.

Also, you aren't limited to just chickpeas/garbanzo beans, Great Northern or white beans make a great hummus.

So prep your beans: soaking, rinsing and draining dried beans or draining canned. If using fresh garlic, peel a couple cloves and pop them into the food processor or blender.

You could also mince them before adding them.

Add your soaked beans to the processor. You may have to do it in batches if you have a baby sized processor like me. If you are using dried beans, you can put them into the recipe right after soaking, or cook them for a half hour or so (simmering) until they are softer. The flavor tends to be the same you just have to really blend them if you choose not to cook them.

Mountain Man didn't cook them this time, just blended them up til smooth. It takes a while, but not as long as cooking them. Of course, if you are using canned beans, just drain and dump.



Add the lemon juice

And the tahini, you know you can make your own tahini from cooking sesame seeds into a paste. But that's another post for another day. Tahini is really strong stuff, I never put in all a recipe calls for. In fact, I prefer hummus with olive oil, but Mountain Man said that a tablespoon was a perfect amount. And it turned out great, just be careful when experimenting with recipes that call for tahini/sesame seed oil.

Process until smooth, the liquid should help it along.

Drain the roasted red peppers. (Remember this is our bottle of leftover peppers from last week's recipe.)

Add the curry powder and the garlic powder if you use that instead of fresh garlic, which you would in a food storage situation.

Blend, blend, blend.

The finish product is a creamy bean spread/dip. It's great on sandwiches, pita pockets, and tortillas. It's delicious as a dip for fresh vegetables and pita chips. Mountain Man is taking this batch on a backpacking trip to eat with tortillas.

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2 cups soaked chickpeas or 1 can beans, drained
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp Tahini (sesame seed oil)
2 cloves garlic or garlic powder
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 jar of roasted red peppers, drained

Mince the garlic, put in food processor. Add the garbanzo beans, puree. Add the oil and juice, puree again. Drain and add roasted red peppers, add curry, blend.

If the beans are soft, then you'll only have to process for a minute. When using soaked, but not cooked beans, process for five minutes or until smooth. Use as a spread or a dip.