beeeeeutiful!

People go crazy over my hummus.  The reason?  I’m a stickler for texture, and velvety smooth is definitely the right choice!  I used to not even like hummus (again, it’s textural for me), until that life-changing day The Hubs ordered it while having lunch at Café Rakka in Hendersonville.  Café Rakka’s hummus is so smooth, so creamy, you can’t taste any of the grit of the chickpeas that you would normally find in store-bought hummus.  You can achieve this consistency by leaving the food processor on for a while.  It’ll be ok, just let it go.  The result is a heavenly, silky-smooth hummus.  Also, presentation and the hummus vehicle are both very important.  I plate my hummus similarly to Café Rakka’s: a few squirts of sriracha sauce, a moat of olive oil, and fresh cilantro in the center.  For  dipping, I like to toast my own pita chips and also serve halved baby carrots for the ultimate hummus vehicle.  The homemade pita chips are warm, crispy, and chewy all in the same bite.  Best part about this recipe?  It’s super quick!  You can put a pretty plate out for guests in under 20 minutes.  The hardest part about this recipe is cleaning the food processor (which I hate).  So many pieces, so little time.

the usual hummus suspects…

Let’s get it started, put all your ingredients into your food processor; tahini, yogurt, chickpeas, lemon juice, and garlic.  I buy the Eden Organic garbanzo beans because they are pretty low in sodium.  Strain and rinse them a few times with cold water.  Rinsing helps to remove extra added salt and helps you to better control your own salt content.

buzz it up, yo!

Buzz all the ingredients up in the food processor for 2-3 minutes, or until silky smooth.  If you find it’s too thin, add more tahini (by the tablespoon), if it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of water.  Keep adding either ingredient until your perfect consistency is achieved.

To make pita chips take fresh pita bread, separate the halves, and cut into eighths like a pizza.  Place smooth side down on a foil or parchment lined tray and drizzle olive oil over the pita triangles.  Rub the oil in with your fingers and then lightly salt and pepper the chips.

so simple, yet so lovely

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until slightly crisped.  Warning: it will be tough to eat the store-bought pita crisps out of a bag after eating these warmed chips!

so warm, so delicious.

Extra Silky Hummus