Hummus

I don’t dig cooking in my kitchen during the summer.  Well, that’s not totally the truth.  I don’t like using my stove in the kitchen or any device that generates heat.  I blame all those summers as a kid growing up in California with no central air.  All we had was a swamp cooler that my dad swore by.  If you ask me all it did was make our house smell and forced my dad to walk around the house naked.  
During these hot months finding something cool and refreshing sometimes takes creative thinking.  Cooking without heat can be a daunting task but not impossible.  You just need to think out of the box.  I often think to the Mediterranean for inspiration.  The food has always seemed refreshing and creative to me.  Now, I’m fully aware that the food goes back several thousand years and nothing really is new under the sun when it comes to that region.   The food always strikes me as cool, refreshing, and easy to make, and when it comes to a hot sweltering day, nothing beats easy and quick that won’t require heating the kitchen. 

When I have one of those days, which seems more often than not lately, this recipe comes to mind. So since I promise a co-work I would put this recipe to print and share it with her I thought I ought to stop procrastinating and do the deed and hammer at the keypad.  I might add I’m writing this sitting in front of our AC vent.   Ahhhhhhhhh!

Hummus

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
Two 1-pound 3-ounce cans chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup well stirred Tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 cup olive oil, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves


Prep:
In a pestle and mortar, mash the garlic to a paste with the salt.

In a food processor purée the chick-peas with the garlic paste, the Tahini, the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the oil, and 1/2 cup water, scrape down the sides, until the hummus is smooth and add salt to taste. Add water, if necessary, to thin the hummus to the desired consistency and transfer the hummus to a bowl.

Clean out your food processor.  Next purée the remaining 1/4 cup oil with the parsley until the oil is bright green and the parsley is minced.  Transfer the parsley oil to a small jar. The hummus and the parsley oil may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Divide the hummus between shallow serving dishes and smooth the tops. Drizzle the hummus with the parsley oil. Serve the hummus with the pita.


Fanito!