[recipe] Hummus

Happy Ostarra/Pesah/Easter! We aren't very observant in this house, but we always like to provide a venue for all our friends who are. So yesterday, we held our Second Not-so-annual Bootleg Passover. I cooked up a rabbit, provided by my friend Dani in exchange for jerky, in a lemon cream marinade I got at the supermarket -_-;; It came out very nice, though!

(kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!)

But my main contribution was hummus! Ok, backtrack. My main contribution was supposed to be baba ganoush, but the recipe I got from AllRecipes.com required 1/2c lemon juice for two eggplants, and it was really, really too much. I started by coarsely blending the roasted and peeled eggplants with the lemon juice, garlic and tahini, only to taste it and be grossed out. So I strained it as best I could and reblended it smooth with strong a can of rinsed chick peas, strong olive oil, more garlic, black pepper, and salt. The lemon flavor dissipated a lot, but not nearly enough for my taste. Luckily, our guests loved it!

My coup de grace, though, was my hummus (bitches don't know about my hummus!)
The main component is two cans of rinsed garbanzos, garlic, an acid, olive oil, water and seasonings. Ingredients aren't measured, but you should have an idea of how much you like each. Here are the two that came out really well last night.


BLACK PEPPER HUMMUS
Start blending a good amount of garlic (2 TBS? I really like garlic) with some salt, and about a cup of apple cider vinegar.
Add one can garbanzos at a time and slowly add about a cup of water, 1/2 cup good olive oil (and more vinegar if needed) until it is blended smooth.
Season with about a tbs of black pepper and salt to taste.


PAPRIKA HUMMUS
Start again with the garlic and salt, but use white vinegar.
Continue with the garbanzos and water and olive oil, and season with 1 tbs spicy hungarian paprika and 1/2 tbs ground red peppers. You can make this as spicy as you like.


I constantly throw hummus together for parties, get togethers and gaming, since a can of garbanzos has less than 400 calories, and everything else is just seasonings. There is always a lot of garlic, and I'll cycle through apple cider, rice and white vinegars (I'm not too fond of the lemon juice that is so often recommended). Random flavorings to try are black pepper, red peppers, sesame seeds (tahini), bacon drippings/pieces, parsley, mint, chives, black beans... pretty much anything I encounter in the kitchen.


TIPS AND FIXES

Make sure you have an idea of the flavor you want when you start, and balance your acid/oil/seasoning ingredients accordingly. If you want the oil to stand out, go for a mild flavored vinegar (white or rice, or both) and maybe some pepper. If you want to taste the vinegar, use a cheaper (or less of a good) olive oil. If you are like me, go to the maximum flavor extremes with everything and it will still blend in nice ^_^

If you use too much acid or salt, this can be calmed down by adding another can of beans, water or strong olive oil. If it is still course, you might even be able to rinse and strain some of it out. Tahini is a strong, mellow taste, but it is also $8 a jar :/

If you have too much oil, cut it with a strong vinegar or water. Or another can, again.

If you have too much garlic... seriously, is that even possible?