Hummus Recipe

I had some requests for the hummus recipe I use. I don't technically use a recipe and kind of change up each batch just a little bit for variety, but this is the general idea of what I do to make 11 cups of hummus:

Ingredients...

1. 32 oz. dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2. 1-2 cups lemon or lime juice (divided)
3. 1 cup olive oil (divided)
4. 4-5 peeled and sliced garlic cloves
5. Seasoning Options: sea salt, black pepper, lemon pepper, ground cumin, garlic powder, cilantro, chipotle chile pepper, or anything else you like

Night Before...

1. Sort (pick out anything from the bag of beans that isn't a bean--I don't usually find anything) and rinse 32 oz. dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
2. Dump the beans in a large stockpot and add water until the beans are covered by 1-2 inches of water.
3. Bring the mix to a boil.
4. As soon as the water has boiled, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it soak overnight.

Cooking...

1. Drain the beans and cover with fresh water two inches above top of beans.
2. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the beans are starting to soften up a bit (though not squishy), adding water as necessary to keep beans covered. You'll notice the skins peeling off the beans. I pick some of these out as they float to the top, but don't waste time trying to get them all out.

Blending and Seasoning (repeat these steps until you've used up all your beans)...

1. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans into your blender until the blender is half full (to about the 24 oz marker).
2. Add 1/8 to 1/4 cup lemon juice
3. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil
4. Add 1 peeled and sliced/grated garlic clove
5. Ladle out cooking water from the stock pot and add to the blender until it comes almost to the height of the beans in the blender.
6. Blend on highest setting until smooth, adding cooking water in small amounts to keep the blender from burning up and to thin the beans. If you get it too thin, just add more beans from the pot. You'll get the hang of it after a couple tries.
7. Transfer the contents of the blender into a mixing bowl and add seasonings to taste. The great thing is that you can make up five or six different varieties with one pot of beans. The following are some sample combinations I like (these are all estimates, because I just kind of throw things in):

• 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 2 tsp. McCormick's Grill Mates Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning; 1/4 tsp. black pepper; 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile pepper; 1 tsp. ground cumin; 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 1/4 tsp. black pepper; 1 tsp. ground cumin; 1/2 tsp. garlic powder; 1 or 2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

You can freeze hummus in glass or plastic containers or Ziploc freezer bags. To use after freezing, just defrost in the fridge and dig in when it's not frozen anymore. Easy enough.

Let me know if you have any improvements or if you find any great seasoning combos!