Leg humpingly good.

I first had hummus about 20 years ago when I'd dropped out of highschool for a year to work for Greenpeace. I was fundraising door to door, not riding Zodiacs out to whaling boats, so no, not exciting at all. But there was this great little Lebanese deli around the corner from the office and I could get a huge platter full of falafels, hummus and pita for less than 5 bucks.

Hummus is really just a bean dip. It's Mediterranean in origin, part of both Greek and various middle eastern cuisines, vegetarian (vegan even), and works as a dip for bread and veggies, or as a spread in a sandwich.

I loved the stuff. But I had no idea how to make it. And after I moved away from home I had to make do with a mix from the local whole foods store. Or from some other deli, but the texture was off, and the seasoning lacked. Nothing was as good as Cedars. I figured out the ingredients, and made it a few times myself, but it was never quite right. Something was always missing.

Until...

Him.

He promised it was tasty. He assured me it would be the best hummus I'd ever had. He said once I'd tasted it, no other hummus would ever satisfy.

I literally humped his leg the first time he put it in my mouth.

Holy crap. It's the best hummus I've ever had. Leg humpingly good hummus.

And he told me I can show it all to you.

;)

What you need:

1 19 oz tin of chick peas

3 cloves garlic

¼ c fresh, chopped parsley

½ tsp dried, ground cumin

½ tsp dried, ground coriander

¼ tsp cayenne

½ tsp salt

¼ c tahini**

3 tbsp lemon juice

½ c olive oil

**Usually found in the import or health food section of a grocery store, or at a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern market.

What you gotta do:

Drop the garlic into the food processor and give it a whirl for a few seconds to chop it up a bit. You could do this with a knife but you've already got the processor out so you may as well use it.

Drain the chick peas, don't bother rinsing them, and cover the garlic with them. Then add the parsley, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt.

Top with tahini and lemon juice.

Start your engines! Whiz it until it's still a bit chunky. You'll know the texture is right because you'll have a dire need to add liquid to it. 

Scrape down the sides, and put the lid back on. Through the chute in the top, drizzle in the oil as the processor does it's thing. Basically, it's making an emulsion. The oil need to be whipped really fast into the lemon juice, and the tahini and speed are helping do that.

At this point you get to decide what kind of texture you want. The longer you run it, the smoother and creamier it will be.

Hummus is a regular part of a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern finger food meal called Mezze. It's usually served with tzaziki, stuffed grape leaves, meatballs, cheese, pickled veggies and pita breads. Any or all of these on a table makes a great meal or snack. (I really need servingware.)

It also works great as a veggie dip at parties, or, as an instant food to have in the fridge for when you get home from school or work starving.

Hm... There's an empty plate in that picture... what would you want on your Mezze platter to go with the Leg Humpingly Good Hummus?