In a food processor bowl, combine the following (organically grown) ingredients:
One can (approximately 15 ounces) drained garbanzo beans (or 2 cups boiled or pressure-cooked garbanzo beans, very soft) Set aside the water you drain off the beans in case you want to use some to thin your chummus.
1/2 cup tahini (finely ground sesame seeds, thinned with sesame oil)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon pressed garlic (puree) 3 small cloves or 1 large clove, halved but unpeeled – which makes the garlic press much easier to clean afterwards
Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt to taste (start with 1/4 tsp)
Cumin seed powder – one or two teaspoons (to taste)
White pepper 1/2 to one teaspoon (to taste)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Blend until smooth. Correct the proportions according to your taste, if necessary. Serve in a beautiful dish, garnished with a pinch of paprika dusted on top, plus a drizzle of olive oil, and maybe few pine nuts and/or whole garbanzos, and maybe a sprig of parsley. Accompany with any or all of the following: kalamata (black Greek) olives, toasted pita triangles, peeled sliced cucumber, sliced bell peppers, freshly washed and drained romaine lettuce leaves.
Variations: add one of the following before blending:
one quartered, seeded, roasted red bell pepper
one tablespoon sundried tomatoes soaked over night in olive oil
freshly washed and well drained basil leaves (about 1/2 cup)
freshly washed and well drained cilantro leaves (about 1/3 cup)
Substitutions:
One cup really soft cooked red lentils for half of the garbanzo beans (adds to the color if you’re using the red bell pepper or sundried tomatoes in it)
Movie to enjoy with your chummus:
West Bank Story, a twenty-minute Oscar-winning musical comedy about peace in the Middle East, created in 2005 as a master’s degree project by Ari Sandel, then a film student at University of Southern California. The only problem with this choice is that you might spray chummus all over yourself from laughing.
Alicia Bay Laurel 