The Great Hummus Discovery

We eat hummus by the bucketful around here. It's so tangy and spicy and just...yum. We eat it with raw vegetables, as a spread on sandwiches or wraps, and sometimes with a spoon.

In looking up nutrition info for this post, I learned that hummus is one of the world's oldest foods, eaten by ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago. Michael Pollan, journalist and author of "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual" says we should eat like our grandparents ate. I guess this qualifies!

Hummus is made of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), olive oil, tahini (ground sesame seed paste), lemon juice, and some spices. Olive oil, of course, is loaded with healthy fat and chickpeas are an excellent source of fiber. Here's a rough look at the stats for two tablespoons of hummus (rough because recipes vary):

- 50 calories
- 5 grams carbohydrates
- 3 grams fat
- 1 gram protein

I thought I had a pretty great recipe for hummus. Then I visited Ali Baba for my birthday. Their hummus kicked my hummus's tail. It made my hummus cry like a little girl.

So like any jealous chef, I started hunting for their recipe. Long story short, I couldn't find it. But I did find a clue. Someone posted in a comment of a restaurant review that Ali Baba uses yogurt in their hummus. That made perfect sense, because it had a little extra tang, plus it was very smooth and creamy. Not as thick as mine tends to be.

The next time I made hummus, I threw in about a quarter to one-third cup of plain greek yogurt, which punches up both the protein content and the taste.

Voila! I had a very close replica of the yummy Ali Baba hummus. Try it! Recipe below.

- 3 TB lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 TB tahini, well stirred
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1 14-ounce can of chickpeas
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- Pinch cayenne
- 4-6 drops Tabasco (optional -- I like mine spicy!)
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients except the cilantro in a food processor and mix the dog out of it! Stop the food processor (or blender) a few times to scrape the sides and mix some more. Transfer to a bowl and mix the cilantro in by hand. You can eat immediately, but hummus tastes better as it ages. It will last several days in an airtight container.

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