HUMMUS

This is one that you really have to adjust to personal taste, especially with regard to the amount of garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini. OK, all the ingredients! Trader Joe’s carries a very nice tahini. Here’s what I do:

1 - 2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
16 oz can chick-peas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ - 2 cups fresh)
½ - 2/3 cup well stirred tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice, or to taste
1 – 2 teaspoons cumin (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil, or to taste

On a cutting board or with a mortar and pestle (a fun tool for kids to use!) mash the garlic to a paste with the salt. In a food processor purée the chick-peas with the garlic paste, the tahini, cumin, and the lemon juice, scraping down the sides, until the hummus is smooth. Check for taste balance. Puree again, pouring in the oil in a thin stream. Taste again, adding anything to taste and then enjoy. Keeps in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for about a week.