Hummus a la Kooka

I love hummus.

It's not something I ate as a child, growing up in the 70's and 80's in Louisiana, that would have been pretty exotic. I never had it until I moved to Phoenix in 1996. I don't remember my first taste of hummus. It was probably at a restaurant or an experiment with it from Trader Joe's. (I miss TJ's, by the way. We don't have one in Norfolk. Stupid ass town.)

Anyway, back to my story...

My dear friend, Kooka, whose real name is Zahit, which I can pronounce properly, is from Isreal but now lives in Phoenix with her wife, Jennifer, and their new baby Guy who will be 1 next week. (Whoa, that was a long sentence.)

I DO remember the first time I had Kooka's homemade hummus, OH MY LORD! It blew me away. What was that crap I'd been eating for years. Homemade hummus is so much better! And it's easy! And it's way cheaper than buying it at the store.

Kooka, in her infinite kindness and wisdom, got me my first jar of tahini to get started. I've been making my own hummus ever since. I'm so thankful that Kooka taught me how.

Let me tell you, this is super easy and you can customize it with anything you like. It's not really a recipe that you have to follow exactly, in fact, I don't have any exact measurements, these are estimations.

Kooka's Hummus
1 15 oz can of chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
A good heaping spoonful of tahini, probably about 1/4 cup
Juice of about 1/2 of a lemon
A couple of glugs of olive oil, maybe 2 tablespoons
A good pinch of salt and quite a few grinds of fresh pepper
Cumin -- start with a good pinch and then go by taste
A clove of garlic
A small pinch of red pepper flakes

Throw is all in your blender and blend, blend, blend. If it's too stiff, and it probably will be you can either add more olive oil or water. I usually use water to thin it out.

You will want to stand and eat this directly from the blender with a spoon, it's so good. Just keep adjusting the flavors until you get it just right. You won't be sorry. The first time you make it, I suggest that you make it plain, just as above. Then you can start with adding other flavors. I make different variations, but my fave is still the plain.

I've added sundried tomatoes; kalamata olives; roasted red peppers; jalepenos; Chinese chili oil; and other things.

I serve it on a plate with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a few pine nuts and some paprika. But who am I kidding? I usually doesn't make it out of the bowl and I just eat it standing in front of the fridge.

If you do want to make your own hummus, you must have tahini, that's what makes the taste. That and the cumin. You may be able to find tahini in your grocery store. Perhaps in the "international" aisle or in the kosher section. You can also usually find it at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and definitely at any natural grocery store or health food store. It's also sometimes found with the peanut butter since it's a nut butter. Don't let the price scare you. It maybe $7 to $9. But a little goes a long way, and probably all of the other stuff you have in your pantry and the can of beans is a dollar. Don't be a cheapskate.