Nothing fancy or revolutionary. Just a share. Simple recipe, tasty dip, no limit to customizations. Maybe more bean dip than hummus, but whatever. Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas. Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans. Why can’t they just have one name? Everybody wants to be original I guess. Scholars are at odds about the origin of garbanzo, thinking Old Spain played a role. Either way, just knows that this legume leads a double life. But do not confuse with a chickling pea which apparently contain the toxins associated with lathyrism. [Had to the Google this.] Lathyrism is a paralytic condition, uniquely identified by the atrophy of gluteal muscles (buttocks). I didn’t see that definition coming… maybe I can get a hall pass at work for lathyrsim. Seems like this might also be near epidemic in some places. 🙂

I don’t keep tahini handy, but I usually have a can or two of garbanzo beans in the pantry and a never ending supply of garlic and olive oil. There are so many different things that you could do to kick the hummus up a notch. Experiment!

Smoked Paprika Hummus

Ingredients

• 2 cans of garbanzo beans ( drained and rinsed)
• Minced garlic, a lot (~ 4 TBPS +/-)
• Salt
• Lemon juice
• Smoked paprika
• Olive oil
• Water

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans
2. Add to food processor or blender with a tablespoon of water and olive oil. Process. This might take quite a bit for it to start looking smoothish. Also add little amounts of water. The liquid helps.
   1. Note: I over packed my food processors (2 cans might just be too much) and had to unload some, make a mess, and process with a smaller bit first to get it going and liquid enough to process the rest, once I added it back in.
3. Take a break from blending and add in the first go round of garlic (~ 2T), salt and splash of lemon juice
4. Mix/process again, each time it is getting creamier and creamier. If it is still looking dry, add a little more water and oil (I do about a TBSP of water and tsp of oil at a time)
5. Stop and taste the hummus so far. It probably needs more garlic and salt, so add some. Mix again.
6. Stop and taste. Add more of what it needs. Also add another squirt (~ 1tsp) of lemon juice and I mixed in some of the smoked paprika at this point.
7. Keep mixing in the food processor until it tastes good to you and is nice and smooth.
8. Things to maybe add in for fun: siracha, roasted red peppers, cilantro, parsley, other herbs, green olives, carrots, ginger, rosemary, chipotle ……
9. Round up dipping vehicles.

Time for me to go get off my lathyristic glutes! Thank you to Wikipedia, the all-knowing, and Huffington Post for some additional ideas on variations.

Enjoy and feel free to share your hummus recipes or variations!