Introduction: Quick Coffee Grinder Hummus

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Make yourself 1-2 servings of humus in 15-20 minutes using this coffee grinder trick.

Bladed coffee grinders are the bane of coffee snobs everywhere. (If you want to make coffee try a burr grinder. The difference is stark.) That doesn't mean the bladed grinder is nothing but a bean murdering candidate for the junk drawer. Far from it! It makes a wonderful dry spice and mushroom grinder.

It can also turn dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) to a fine powder in seconds. That's the key to this recipe. Other hummus recipes require you to cook or soak your chickpeas or get them from a can. This recipe uses the grinder to powder the beans so they can hydrate nearly instantly.

Step 1: Gather Ingredients and Implements

Ingredients

2 tbs sesame seeds
7 tbs dry chickpeas
2 tbs olive oil
1/8th teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 tsp finely minced garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
about 1/4 cup water

Implements
small frying pan
bladed coffee grinder
measuring spoons
spoon or fork for mixing
small mixing bowl
knife to mince garlic

Step 2: Make the Sesame Seeds Into Tahini

If you already have tahini you can substitute 2tbs for this step.

Put the sesame seeds into the small skillet. Heat over medium high to high heat for 2-3 minutes until the seeds just start to change color and give off a toasty smell.

Remove from heat and put in a plate or a bowl to cool for a minute or two. The small amount of seeds will cool quickly.

Put the seeds into the grinder and pulse for 1-2 seconds several times until they are finely powdered. Pour into a small mixing bowl and add 1 tbs of olive oil. Mix well to combine.

This tahini will be a bit thick compared to how you would make it for other recipes or if you buy it. It should make a thick paste.

Step 3: Prepare the Chickpeas

Add the chickpeas to the grinder about 1/3rd at a time. Pulse for 1-2 seconds until it makes a very fine powder. Don't over-rev your grinder. It might overheat.

Add 1 tbs olive oil to the powder. Add 4 tbs water and stir well to get a thick uniform paste. Let the paste sit to soak up the water while you chop the garlic.

Step 4: Finely Mince the Garlic

Finely chop 1/4 tsp garlic. I don't recomend using the bladed grinder. Dry ingredients aren't hard to clean, but wet ones are. This is also barely enough garlic to even find in the grinder once it's done chopping.

Once you have minced the garlic into almost a paste, add it to the chickpeas.

Step 5: Combine Ingredients Well

Completely combine the tahini, garlic, chickpeas, lemon juice and salt. Go easy on the salt at first and add to taste.

Add water carefully to reach the desired consistency.

Step 6: Garnish and Serve

Garnish with sumac (I substituted smoked paprika) and serve with chips, pita bread or toast. It also makes an excellent sandwich spread.

The consistency of this hummus is coarse compared to what you get in the store. It also has a punchy chickpea flavor.

It will thicken if you don't eat it immediately, but I never seem to have that problem. Keep adding water in small amounts if you desire a smoother texture.  Be careful, once you add too much water there is no going back.