BEFORE HUMMUS IS TARATOOR
A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that
he always has good company. ~Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1946)
LET THERE BE HUMMUS
You’ve heard me recommend hummus a lot at Stop Blogging And Cook. Let me tell you why. More than a mere condiment, hummus is a miracle food. You might wonder if that isn’t too strong a descriptor for something so humble. I don’t think so. Made from the chickpea (which is also a garbanzo bean) hummus is rich in protein. It provides real nutrition in a satisfying form, and is a quick way to get your favorite vegetables on the table for dinner or a snack. I always keep a container of hummus in my refrigerator, and often replenish it before it runs out.
- It’ such a good thing to have around for snacking. In the middle of the night, when you’re hungry but don’t want to eat something heavy because you’ll be heading for bed soon, hummus and carrots scratch that itch for me.
- When beginning dinner and I am so hungry I can’t wait, I’ll open up the hummus and dip whatever vegs I’ve got around: mushrooms, celery, cherry or grape tomatoes. That will sometimes be the vegetable portion of my dinner. Especially if I want a quick meal, eating the raw vegetables eliminates the need for more cooking. And I get to have them with hummus, something I wouldn’t have with a cooked veg.
- For a snack in the afternoon, or having friends over for cocktails, hummus is my mainstay, served with vegs and corn chips. It is always a hit.
- I can keep it in the workplace fridge for a quick lunch al desko,
- Makes a good sandwich spread in place of mayo or mustard.
How do I make hummus? Let me tell you a secret: I buy it. Abraham’s makes a good hummus, with minimal unnecessary additives. You can find it in the refrigerator case at the grocery. There are other brands, and not every brand is free of the mukhwa that Big Food seems compelled to add. If you cannot find this brand, look for one with just these ingredients: chickpeas (garbanzo beans), (filtered) water, tahini (sesame paste), garlic, lemon juice (citric acid) and sea salt. Sometimes apple cider vinegar is added (like Abraham’s) but I suspect that this is as a natural preservative rather than a flavoring because you cannot taste the vinegar. Hummus doesn’t need chemical preservatives because natural lemon juice or vinegar does the trick. And it’s so good, it never hangs around for long.
My recent grocery foray revealed a new brand of hummus which listed “fresh chickpeas” as the first ingredient. Chickpeas are legumes, dried and sold that way or processed into flour or cooked and canned. So a company that boasts “fresh chickpeas” is disingenuous at the least. They are trying to gain market share by misleading customers, even if in a small and innocuous way, and cannot be trusted to not misrepresent themselves elsewhere on the label. That was all I needed to know about that company.
You will also see ‘flavors’ of hummus, — bell pepper, hot pepper, garlic, green onion, savory spices — but the only flavors in traditional hummus are chickpea, garlic and lemon. Anything else is a culinary invention. Get flavor variety on the other side of the dip by pairing it with fresh bell pepper, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, celery, green onion, mushroom, radish, yellow squash and zucchini. Become familiar with the flavor of the genuine article, then experiment with adding your own additional herbs, spices or flavorings if you want. That constitutes cooking in my book. Hummus is so perfect a food, I think it lacks for nothing. Plus, with any additional flavorings there is a chance that they will be artificial.
SO ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US HOW TO MAKE HUMMUS?
I thought you’d never ask. Before making hummus, we need to make Taratoor. Taratoor is the main ingredient — when added to cooked chickpeas — that makes hummus. Taratoor is made from tahini, which is simply a paste made from grinding sesame seeds. You can find it in grocery stores or Middle Eastern specialty shops. Be sure to get fresh tahini (paste) and not dried (powdered). Similar to peanut butter, it will separate after opening; just stir to combine the oil back into the paste. Or keep in the refrigerator. Along with garlic, lemon juice, water and a little salt, it takes no time at all to whip up.
In addition to making hummus, taratoor is versatile for other things:
- A dip for cauliflower, raw or pan-fried
- The base of nut sauces for dishes like satay
- Makes a great salad dressing
- Good on baked or grilled fish
We had a preparation for Baked Fish somewhere recently, didn’t we? Stay tuned for the complete prep on hummus!
