Hummus

I love love love hummus; always have, and always will.  Growing up my mom would make the absolute tastiest hummus, and so now whenever I visit home, I like to send hints to her in hopes that she'll whip some up. ;)

It's so important to properly soak your garbanzo beans before making this simple dip.  It'll remove unwanted phytic acid, aid in better digestion, and increase mineral absorption.  This is a crucial step before consuming all beans, grains, nuts, and seeds.  It's not a hard step, it just needs to be thought of a day or two in advance.

Read more on soaking here.

This dip is one of the best ways that I've found to get my daughter to eat some raw veggies.  She absolutely loves it!

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 cup of dried garbanzo beans/chick peas

- 2 tablespoons acidic medium: vinegar, lemon juice, whey, or baking soda (for soaking water)

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

- 3 to 4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive, plus more if desired

- 3 tablespoons tahini

- 1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, or to taste

- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (just to sprinkle of top for looks)

DIRECTIONS:

1. check garbanzo beans for any stones.  Put in a glass bowl (must be glass), and cover with very warm (not boiling), filtered water.  Add 2 tablespoons of desired acidic medium to the water.  Soak for 12-24 hours (the longer the better), adding more warm water if water level gets too low during soaking.

2. Drain beans, and rinse with filtered water.  Place beans in a saucepan and cover with filtered water, bring to boil, and then boil for 10 minutes, scooping off the foam that rises to the top.

3. Then reduce to medium low, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and cook until soft (approximately 30 minutes).

4. Drain beans, but reserve cooking liquid.

5. Place everything in a food processor or high-speed blender, and blend until desired consistency adding as much of the reserved liquid as needed (about 1/4 cup).

6.  Spoon hummus into a serving dish, drizzle top with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

Serve warm, or chilled and enjoy!

(Store covered in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for extended life).