Hummus

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are supposedly the most consumed legume in the world. I don't know if that's true, but they're tasty and they cost $1.69/lb at my grocery store, so I want to learn to use 'em.

Working with dried beans is something I don't have much experience with. I never understood the soaking thing, and canned beans are so dang easy. Cost is that main factor, I guess. Dried beans are a lot cheaper, and of course, they keep forever if airtight. Anyway, I decided to get to learning about them, and garbanzos are as good a place to start as any. I love hummus, and it is perhaps the most prototypical garbanzo dish I regularly consume.

First, I did a quick hot soak method on the dried beans. I used two dried cups - way more than necessary, but that wasn't entirely unintentional. I boiled about ten cups of water, then simmered the dry beans (peas?) for a few minutes. I then turned off the heat and covered the pot, letting them sit for about 4 hours. At the end of this they didn't seem adequately rehydrated, so I went ahead and left them overnight. In the morning, they were still hard and didn't seem suitable for use, but as it turns out, they were fine - I was just comparing them to canned garbanzos which are cooked already. I didn't realize that would be a necessary step.

I figured out the cooking factor and boiled the rehydrated beans for an hour or two, until they seemed right. Now I had about 4 cups of prepared garbanzos. On to hummus making.

Hummus

Two cups of prepared garbanzos into food processor, add about 4Tb tahini, 8Tb olive oil, juice of one lemon, one or two smallish cloves of garlic, and a good pinch of salt. Puree, adding water as needed to achieve the correct consistency. When fully processed, remove to storage bowl, adjusting salt as needed. I like to leave it slightly under-salted because sprinkling some kosher salt on top when serving is nice. Also, I generally tend to put more garlic into recipes than they call for, but in this case it is a bit overpowering to add more than is typical. Lastly, I finely mince about half a fistful of Italian flat-leaf parsley, and mix it in for color variation and a nice grassy flavor element.

For serving, I like to dish some out into a medium hemispherical bowl, drizzling EV olive oil on top, along with an additional squeeze of lemon, sprinkle of salt, and perhaps a bit more minced parsley. Toast up some pita on the stove, and you're set. Adding some Kalamata olives on the side puts you well into light meal territory.

Notes:

An open avenue for flavor exists when using dried garbanzos. The cooking water can be augmented with anything for a subtle layer of herb or spice flavor in the final product. Sort of like herb-tea-brining chicken. Also, for spicy palates I sometimes enjoy adding a bit of cayanne pepper at the processor stage. Roasted red peppers are another option.