Quick and Easy Hummus — Ramble & Rove

Written by: Kenzie

I know hummus is not a new invention, but I’m a little late to the game and only recently discovered that I quite enjoy this simple, delicious, and somewhat healthy snack. It’s creamy, yet savory and can serve as a side, appetizer, or stand alone snack. What’s not to love about that!?

I put the full recipe right here at the top for those of you that don’t want me rambling on (see what I did there?) while discussing the ins and outs of the recipe. You’re welcome.

This recipe is a fairly simple one, but I like to think of recipes as guidelines rather than actual rules. Find what you like, and do it your way. Experimenting in the kitchen is half the fun of cooking! So get in there, throw in a little extra spice or maybe a new herb. Heck, use sesame oil! Go crazy. Only you’ll know if your adapted recipe sucks or not.

But, for the sake of the blog, I’ll just tell you how to make this recipe specifically. It’s easier that way and I hope you like the recipe as is, too.

To begin, gather all your stuff and try to take an aesthetic picture. Realize that most of your ingredients aren’t that pretty (a can of beans??) and settle for this line-up.

Remember that these ingredients can be switched out! I used fresh lemon juice, but my parsley out back died so I used some dried from Callie’s house. I also didn’t have fresh garlic like I thought, so had to use powdered. If using fresh herbs instead of dried, add a bit extra - fresh herbs are less potent. If using fresh garlic instead of garlic powder, use a bit less. Just use what works for you and what you have on hand at the time!

Open and rinse both cans of beans (psst, garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same thing in case you’re confused about that). Go ahead and toss the white beans into your food processor. Now, if you aren’t fancy and don’t have a food processor, don’t fret! You can also make this in a blender just as easy or even mash it up by hand (it may not be quite as smooth this way, but that’s okay). I have this weird, half blender, half food processor thing that worked quite well.

Here’s a step that you can actually take out if you’re lazy, but I personally think it’s worth it and makes the smoothest hummus. You gotta peel the chickpeas. It is time-consuming but is actually kind of fun. You just pinch each chickpea between two fingers gently and the skin should pop right off. After a while, I always think the peeled chickpeas look a bit like a pile of yellowed human teeth, but try not to think about that.

Toss the peeled chickpeas in with the white beans and add everything else but the olive oil in there too while you’re at it. Give it a good whirl until it starts to blend together and the beans are getting all chopped to mush. Depending on the power of your blender/food processor/biceps you may need to get a spoon and stir it around a bit to really get things moving. Once it all comes together a bit, drizzle in the olive oil. The amount of olive oil added really depends on how thick you like your hummus. I like mine somewhere between hot lava and half-dried plaster of Paris. Appetizing, right?

Gorgeous.

And that’s it! You can serve it up all pretty on a platter or eat it straight from the blender, I don’t judge. It pairs great with cucumbers, bell pepper slices, crostinis, naan bread, celery, you name it. Try is on a flatbread or avocado toast. Like I said, go crazy! It’s your kitchen.