Recipe: Barefoot Contessa’s Hummus

As I was packing up the kids’ snacks and lunch this morning, Nick stopped me.

“Wait, I need pretzels and hummus for school!”

I love that he loves hummus.  And I’m certainly addicted to it myself.  Especially lately.  Clean eating.  Healthy.  And delicious.  It’s the perfect mid-day, tide-you-over-till-lunch bite.  And with our recent reboot of Eat.Live.Be., this is a perfect guilt-free snack to take the edge off, and it seriously whips up in five minutes flat. If you’re playing along, tomorrow’s Eat.Live.Be. will take its inspiration from somewhere online.

It turns out that Mystic is not a fan of hummus.  Or chick peas.  Or apparently beans of most any kind.  Couldn’t even get him to try it, and he’ll usually try anything.  I haven’t given up yet, but in the meantime, it’s most definitely his loss.  Adding to his list…

I brought some in to work last week and asked one of my new co-workers if she wanted some.

“Hummus?  Is it gross?”

“Hey now, do you think I would make something gross?  Come on now.”

I suggested she just try a little bit and then she’d know for sure if she liked it or not.  By the time I made it up the three flights to my office, she had e-mailed me to tell me how good it was.

Another convert!

There are a million recipes out there for hummus, and I’m usually partial to one from my friend, Beth.  But a few weeks ago, I found this version from Ina Garten and her Barefoot Contessa cookbook, and I have to say, it’s quite possibly my new favorite.  It has a ton of garlicky flavor, which a lot of other hummus recipes don’t, and I think that’s why I like it so much.

As far as dippers?  There are tons of possibilities, but my favorites are sourdough pretzels, pumpernickel pretzel rods, and mini carrots (currently on sale at Target, of all places, at $1.50 a bag).

And before I forget, if you don’t already have that cookbook, circa 1999, consider grabbing it.  Filled with classic, no-fail recipes, I’ve had quite a few winners from it over the years, including the cover recipe for those vegetables.  Yummy stuff indeed.

Happy dipping!

Hummus
Courtesy of Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa cookbook

4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste) (I usually add just a touch more)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) (I sometimes cheat and use bottled lemon juice, it’s fine, I swear)
2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas
8 dashes hot sauce

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it’s minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

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