I keep meaning to add some photos since my cell phone now has a decent camera...
I've been wrestling with my weight for years and trying to find low-fat/calorie snacks that are filling and still fit within my budget can be tough. I had a bunch of carrots and celery left over from making chicken noodle soup for one of my friends, so I thought I'd eat those for my mid day snack at work. Sadly, I'm not super fond of either celery of carrots on their own. I decided to try my hand at making hummus. It was surprisingly easy and the only things I needed to buy were chick peas (69c!) and a bottle of olive oil (since I was running low anyway).
1 15 oz can chick peas/garbanzo beans
5 cloves of roasted garlic, roughly chopped
1 clove raw garlic, crushed or grated
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
1 small handful of fresh parsley
1/4 c olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1. Drain the chick peas and rinse them in cold water. If you want a really smooth hummus, you can take the time to remove the skins from all of the chick peas.
2. Toss everything into your food processor except the olive oil. Turn it on and start streaming the olive oil in through the top. Let it run until it seems pretty smooth. Give it a taste and add salt and pepper if needed. If the hummus seems to dry, add more olive oil and process for a few minutes more.
I made my housemates taste the hummus and they seemed to like it. I like mine very garlicky, so the one raw clove really gives it a bit of bite. If you prefer the roasted garlic taste, you could roast a whole head of garlic by cutting off the top, wrapping it in tin foil and baking it in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. The garlic should be soft when it is done. I also spotted a recipe that called for using fresh oregano instead of parsley. I may give that a try next time.
I've read that running the chick peas through a food mill strips the skins off while it mashes them up, so if you're one of those lucky peoples who has one, give it a try. I'm not sure this recipe would work well in a blender, though. You'll probably notice I didn't use Tahini -- I was making this on the cheap -- but you could most likely substitute 1-2 tbs of Tahini for the Cumin.
EDIT: Whooo eeee! After letting the hummus sit in the fridge over night, the garlic flavor is now seriously strong. I can feel it burn my tongue a bit. I LOVE garlic, and this is almost too strong for me. I might just try upping the amount of roasted garlic cloves next time and not add any raw garlic. If you like it strong, though, this is good stuff.
