Hummus Dip

Recipe by Our Cookbook Collection

Ingredients

Sauce:: 1teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 2teaspoons ground cumin; 1teaspoon salt; 1teaspoon hot red pepper, chopped; 1tablespoon minced garlic; 4-- pickled jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
Hummus:: 18ounces dry chickpeas (or 5 cups cooked chickpeas); 1tablespoon baking soda, plus 1/2 teaspoon; 2/3cup tahini; 1tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 2-- garlic cloves, crushed; -- Salt to taste
Garnish, optional:: -- Tahini; -- Olive oil; -- Chopped parsley; -- Chopped onion; -- Whole chickpeas

To prepare sauce, combine all ingredients; let stand 1 hour.
To prepare hummus, soak chickpeas overnight in a large bowl of cold water with 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Drain, rinse and put in a large saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Add remaining baking soda and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, over low heat 2 to 3 hours until chickpeas are very soft. Cool slightly; drain, saving some of the cooking liquid.
Place chickpeas and 2/3 cup tahini in food processor and process until almost smooth. Add some cooking liquid if paste is too thick. Add lemon juice, garlic and salt. For a richer hummus, add another 1/3 cup tahini.
To serve, make a crater in center of hummus; fill with tahini and sauce. Sprinkle with olive oil, parsley, onion and whole chickpeas.

Recipe from The Book of New Israeli Food, A Culinary Journey, by Jana Gur, 2007.