FRIDAY FARE: Three Hummus Recipes and a Recommendation

A few days ago, I took my kids to a Greek restaurant... Aristo's, near the University of Utah. We went on my oldest son's recommendation - my youngest son had a school assignment to try out a foreign restaurant - one that wasn't Mexican, Italian, or Chinese. So, we tried Greek!

(We had to take a picture to prove that we did the assignment, so here is Matthew with the menu - he loved the food - he had a gyro. The meat was lamb - something new for him)

I've never had Greek food, and I'm on a strict diet right now, so I picked out a Greek salad - minus the Kalamata olives and feta cheese (I know - bummer, right?) It was very good. We also ordered hummus with warm pita bread for the table. The look and smell were just too much for me, and I tried a small bite to see what it tasted like. WOW! It's a good thing that my kids had already eaten almost every bit of that hummus, or I would have lost my willpower and snarfed it down! It was SO good! And the warm, buttery pita bread was to die for. I'm happy to report that I stopped at one bite - but I wanted more. :-)

Today, I'm going to share 3 hummus recipes that I found on CookingLight.com.

This first one is the traditional hummus recipe - it is a Middle Eastern dip, traditionally made with chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil. Make ahead and refrigerate for a day, and then let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Serve with warm pita bread, or pita chips...

Traditional Hummus

Ingredients

• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Place beans and garlic in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until chopped. Add 1/2 cup water and remaining ingredients; pulse until smooth, scraping down sides as needed.

The next hummus recipe uses two of my favorite ingredients: garlic and sun-dried tomatoes!

Garlic & Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 (6-inch) pitas, each cut into 10 wedges
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place pita wedges on pan, and coat with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 6 minutes or until golden.
3. Combine water, tomato, salt, pepper, garlic, and beans in a food processor, and process until smooth. Serve with pita wedges.

For the last recipe, I thought we'd try something unusual...

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Dash of ground red pepper
• 1 (6-ounce) bag pita chips (such as Stacy's Simply Naked)

Directions

1. Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. Serve with pita chips.

If you've never had Hummus - try it! You are in for a treat. And it's a very healthy dip. And if you are in the Salt Lake area, and want to try a great Greek restaurant - check out Aristo's. The food is amazing, the waiters are attentive, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting.