Josh's White Bean HummusEstimated Cost:  $7.50

Prep Time:  10 minutes

Refrigeration Time:  1 hour

Serves:  12

This is my first contributed recipe.  I am very excited about this.  This is my best friend Josh’s recipe, and he brought some of this most-excellent hummus to game night this past week. It was enjoyed by all.  The flavors were incredible but it was the smoothness that struck me immediately.  After talking to Josh I learned his secret – white beans NO garbanzos!

3 cans (14.5 oz.) Northern Great White Beans, 2 drained – 1 undrained
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 garlic cloves
2 Teaspoons ground cumin
4 Tablespoons Tahini

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt and cumin. Process until it has formed a thin paste without any chunks of garlic visible (1 to 2 minutes).

2. With the food processor on, slowly add the beans to the Tahini mixture. Add the beans through the feed tube slowly to ensure a creamier texture. Process until it appears creamy. Mixture should look a little thinner than you’d expect the final texture to be. If it seems as think or thicker then hummus simply add a little more lemon juice (1/2 tsp.) and reprocess until combined.

3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The hummus will thicken and the flavors will intermingle as it chills. Homemade hummus may remain refridgerated safely for up to a week; frozen for up to 3 months.

4. Traditionally when the hummus is served it is garnished with a light dusting of Paprika. Serve with pita chips and raw veggies. Also makes a wonderful condiment on sandwiches and burgers.

Josh’s comments:

I use a white bean instead of the traditional garbanzo/chickpea because I like my hummus to be smooth and chickpeas tend to be gritty. I also like my hummus quite garlicky, if you do not, scale back the cloves of garlic. This recipe is simple and straight forward, but for best results follow the order in which you put the ingredients into the food processor.

This recipe makes a large batch of hummus, great for potlucks or parties but if you are making it just for yourself you can scale it back easily. The seasoning combinations for hummus are endless, and while this is my favorite way, its very open to your personal interpretation and modification.