Introduction: Delicious Hummus Inspired Dip

I am a total food nut and I have cooked and consumed many, many dishes. So when I say that hummus is among my all time favorite foods that is saying something. It makes a great dip or is great as a spread on sandwiches. Unfortunately, if you go to the market to buy some it will set up back nearly $4 for a pretty dainty portion. Even worse, most of the brands do not use very good ingredients, especially the oils they use. Fortunately, making hummus is ridiculously simple so there is no reason to settle for these over priced commercial variety.

Hummus is based on just a few simple ingredients. The base is garbanzo beans, also known as chick peas. To this there will always be lemon, salt, pepper, garlic, and tahini. Tahini is a sauce made from ground sesame seeds. Depending on where you live this can be difficult to find in some supermarkets. This is all thinned out using olive oil to make a smooth consistency;.

In my version, I do not use tahini. Instead I substitute regular sesame seeds which you can buy anywhere. Using this approach I have managed to get excellent results for years. The great thing about this recipe is you can then add in whatever you want in order to flavor your hummus. I have made dozens of varieties in order to fit with different dishes I have made and they were all based on the basic ingredients I just outlined plus a few extras. In this tutorial I will be showing you how to make a spicy sundried tomato hummus. Let's get started!

Step 1: Gather and Prep Your Ingredients

The first step is to get all of the ingredients that we will need. They include:

1 can of garbanzo beans
1/2 lemon
garlic
sun dried tomatoes
jalopeno
peprika
salt
black pepper
olive oil

I prefer to use low sodium garbanzo beans. This will allow you to add just the right amount of salt to the mix. I also like to rinse my beans off in running water before using them. Also remove the stem from you jalopeno and cut it into quarters. If you would like the dip less spicy you can remove the seeds.

You will need to crush your garlic and remove the paper. Also remove the stem from the 

Step 2: Everybody in the Pool

Throw the beans, sun dried tomatoes, and jalapeno in to the food processor. Squeeze in your half lemon. I also like to zest the lemon into the mix in order to add some nice complexity. Give this a spin until things are dices up and mixed together a bit. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides periodically to make sure that everything is getting chopped.

Once you've done your rough blend, open up your food processor and add your seasonings. Close the processor, turn it on, and slowly drizzle in olive oil. You should see the consistency of the mixture change as the olive oil is integrated. Periodically open the food processor and scrape down the sides with you spatula to make sure everything is being integrated.

Step 3: Test, Adjust, and Spin It Smooth

Once things are starting to reach the desired consistency, do a taste test on you hummus to see if you need to add more of anything. Normally, I try to be conservative with the salt at first and then adjust at this point by adding more. It is always easier to take this approach and add more salt than to have to fix something you have over salted.

Once you have made any necessary tweak, scrape down the sides and let the mixture spin in the processor until it reaches the desired smooth consistency. When you are done, use your spatula to transfer your hummus to a serving dish or container. I like to use tupperware just in case there is any left although I can only ever recall a few times when the whole batch didn't get immediately devoured. The lemon we added not only adds some acid to the flavor profile but also keeps the dip from oxidizing and browning. I you need to save it should sat good in the fridge for at least a week. Enjoy!

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