H = Hummus

How many of you know what hummus is?

Up until recently I had no idea. I knew it was a very popular food throughout the Middle East, but I never ate it before. Mostly because I had never been to a place that served it. Then, about 8 years ago, I went to my first Middle Eastern restaurant.

The food was amazing! There was so much flavor in everything. I was instantly a fan, but still had no idea what hummus was made of. I decided right then and there I didn’t want to know. That might sound a little strange, but I find 1) when I know what something is made of, and 2) it has something in it that I don’t like, all of the sudden... BAM! I don’t like it anymore.

Now I feel I've eaten it enough to know I'll like it regardless. So I did some research and found a great recipe.

On About.com I found: Everything You Wanted to Know About Hummus but Were Afraid to Ask by Saad Fayed. He said, "hummus is a dip/spread that is made from chickpeas. In fact, hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas. You may notice that many hummus recipes call for garbanzo beans, not chickpeas. Don’t worry, garbanzo is the Spanish translation of chickpeas."

And the best part, it's good for you too! Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C, not to mention that chickpeas is a good source of protein and fiber. Here is one of the recipes Saad Fayed provided in his article, but make sure to check out the link above for more.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans

1/3 cup tahini

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ - ¾ cup roasted red peppers (depending on taste)

Preparation:

In a food processor, combine beans, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add red peppers and garlic until desired consistency.

Whether you are a herbivore or a carnivore this is a tasty treat and very simple to make.