Calories in Hummus:
23 calories in hummus, very nuturient dense, low fat, great for weight loss and health.
chickpeas, roasted red peppers, lemon juice, sesame Tahini, canola oil, citric acid, natural flavor, sea salt.
Matching Foods:
Origins of Hummus:
Sadly enough, the answer is that we just don't know, exactly. Hummus has been aroundfor too long, in too many forms, and the origin is lost in antiquity. First, however,let's clear up some vocabulary: hummus is actually the Arabic word for chickpea, called garbanzoin Spanish, ceci in Italian, gram in India. The chickpea is a type of beanwhose official name is Cicer arietinum. Hummus bi tahina is probably whatyou're thinking of, though--that pasty appetizer, commonly used as a dip for bits of pitabread, although sometimes used as a dip for veggies or as a sauce on meats and fish.
Hummus is used throughout the Arab world. There's no way of knowing where itstarted--presumably somewhere in the Middle East. That's not quite as facetious as itsounds, since hummus is popular around the Mediterranean and as far away as India.
The chickpea was used as food by our hunter-gatherer ancestors tens of thousands ofyears ago and was cultivated around 7,000 years ago in the Middle East. This is prettymuch pre-history, so details are not clear. The Phoenicians are credited with bringing thechickpea to western Europe, but there is some dispute over that. Certainly by Roman timesthe garbanzo had become entrenched in the Iberian diet. So there are lots of versions ofhummus, "invented" in lots of places.
To make hummus bi tahini, the chickpea is cooked and pureed, then mixed with tahini(sesame seed paste) to make a rough paste. Then you add olive oil, garlic, and lemonjuice. There is some variation by recipe, such as garnishing with paprika or parsley. TheEgyptians tend to add cumin.
As an aside, the chickpea is also the basic ingredient for felafel, and sometimes isused in cous-cous.
Hummus Recipe:
Hummus
2 cups canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), liquid reserved
2/3 cup tahini paste*
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
*You can make your own tahini paste in a food processoror blender by grinding toasted sesame seeds. Toast the sesame seedsover medium heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
| In a food processor, puree the chickpeas, tahini, 3 tablespoonsolive oil, lemon juice and garlic until smooth, adding a little of thereserved liquid if the mixture seems too thick; it will be slightlygrainy. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a shallow bowl or plate. Combine the paprika and the remaining 2 tablespoons oliveoil, drizzle the mixture over the top, and garnish with choppedparsley, if desired. Serve with pita bread triangles. Makes about 3 cups. |
