Hummus, My Nemesis No More!

Hummus is awesome. I used to buy the stuff out of the refrigerated section at Wegman's (ahh, Wegman's) in Fairfax, VA. Despite the fact that I am in the Med region now, hummus is not something normally made in Tunisian cuisine, though you can find it at Cafe Beiruth, my local Lebanese joint in Berges du Lac.

The chickpea (or pois chiche) has haunted me since my arrival in Tunis. I tried on several occasions to make hummus from both canned and fresh chickpeas and could not for the life of me get it right!!! I even asked for guidance of my friend Chantal on what I was doing wrong. Then one day, about 2 or 3 months ago, I got it right. Now, I make no claims that my hummus is the best or even close to Chantal's, but I'm confident that this recipe is good to serve to friends and my husband, who, bless his heart, has been with me through the trials of hummus batches over the past 18 months.

Three things that I learned about making hummus:
1. The tahini paste makes the difference. I was buying the wrong stuff when I got here. Make sure that yours is not sweetened with a lot of sugar, often labeled as "Nature" here in Tunis. I finally found the stuff that works, thanks to Stefanie!!
2. Food processor, food processor, food processor. It will save you loads of time, and get the hummus to the right consistency.
3. Taking the skins off the chickpeas. What?? Yep, I never knew this either. Though a little bit of a time intensive process, I found that I can take the skins off while waiting for something else to boil/cook/bake. The chickpeas blend into a smoother consistency when you take this step.

Yes, this one is all local ingredients. Nothing from the commissary, nothing from mail order or the states. Let's get started.

Hummus
2 cans of chickpeas
1 lemon, juiced
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped into fourths
salt
2 TBsp tahini paste (again, make sure that it doesn't contain much sugar.)
Water
Olive Oil
A couple of 'dollops' of sour cream, unsweetened yogurt, or creme fresh (Ah ha! This is a trick that Chantal told me about. It will smooth out the hummus a bit and give it a little bit of a kick.)

Rinse chickpeas. Take skins off by rolling or pinching them between your thumb and pointer finger. Discard skins.

Place chickpeas into food processor along with 1 TBsp of lemon juice, tahini paste, sprinkle of salt, 1 garlic clove, and a little water (about 2-4TBsp). Pulse repeatedly. Scrape sides of food processor and pulse a couple of more times. Add sour cream and pulse some more. If you like your hummus a little more garlicky, go ahead and add the second clove. Stream in some olive oil, and run food processor for about 10-20 seconds. The hummus should start to have a dip like consistency. Add more lemon juice, water, sour cream, or olive oil to taste and when the consistency is a little thicker than sour cream. Serve with pita bread, pita chips, or cut up veggies (carrots, celery, red/yellow pepper strips).

It's easy, right? For me, it was all about learning from my mistakes and asking a few friends. Happy hummus making!