ISRAELI HUMMUS

Here's again another of my recipes that I made for the "Foodbloggers Picnic" in Geneva...

After some delibaration, I decided to bring this "Hummus", because I thought that it would be the perfect accompaniment to the "German Partybrot" (see recipe) that I baked...

I particularly love "Hummus" (in Arabic "Hummus Bil Tahini) as this Middle Eastern (it's exact origin is unknown) "Mezze" item (appetizer or small dish served with alcohol) is really delicious and goes ever so well with any fresh homemade bread.

This "Israeli Hummus" or more specifically "Jerusalem Hummus" is wonderfully smooth, well-balanced taste-wise and very flavorful. The tahini paste gives this "chickpea purree" a pleasant nutty flavor and the spices really tingle your tastebuds in a delicate way without ever shocking them. A real delicacy that is also very decorative on any table!

Make this "Hummus" and travel east to far away lands where legends and history mingle together in order to make people dream...

~ Israeli Hummus ~
Recipe taken from Joan Nathan's cookbook "Jewish Cooking In America" and very freely adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums

Yields 6-10 servings

Ingredients:
2 Cups (+ 1/2 Cup for decorating) Cooked chickpeas
1 Cup Tahini (sesame paste, see infos)
4 Cloves garlic
1/2- 1 Lemon juice or to taste
1 Tsp Ground paprika
1 1/2 Tsps Ground cumin
A pinch Ground oregano
4 Tbs (+ more for decorating) Olive oil
2-3 Tsps Salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1/2 Tsp Sumac (for decorating, see infos)

Method:
1. Place the chickpeas in the food processor or blender with the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, cumin, oregano, olive oil, salt and black pepper.
2. Process until smooth.
3. To serve, place the hummus on a large, flat plate.
4. Smooth it down with the back of a spoon, making a slight depression all around the center
5. Dribble with olive oil, sprinkle with sumac and the 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas.
6. Serve.

Remarks:
If the hummus is to thick, add a bit of water.
See the following link for instructions regarding the method to cook chickpeas. For this recipe, you will need about a cup dried chickpeas.
To decorate the hummus, you may also use toasted pine nuts, chopped parsley, olives and some ground paprika.

Serving suggestions:
Serve the hummus with fresh bread such as flat "Ekmek Bread" (see recipe), "German Partybrot" (see recipe) or hot "Pita Bread" cut in wedges that will be dipped into the olive oil and then will be used to scooped up the mixture. "Tortilla Chips" are also great to dip into it...
You can also use "Hummus" as an appetizer or "Mezze" or as a dressing with dishes such as "Felafel", "Israeli Salad", eggplants and grilled chicken/meats.
It is even possible to fill a "Pita Bread" with onion rings, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, add some "Hummus" and chickpeas in order to make a vegetarian "Kebab".

If you want to learn everything about "Hummus", then I recommend you to visit this site (click here)!