Fast and Easy Homemade Hummus

I admit it, I have addiction to hummus, however in the past I have never truly been able to produce one that I have loved as much as the one I can get in a certain Greek restaurant in a certain town, located off of 7th Avenue that the mere thought of makes me swoon. Light, creamy and down right delicious! That is until now, turns out the secret lies in juice I always pour down the drain when straining the beans from the can. Normally I am an advocate for all things fresh but when I want hummus, I want it now! I don’t have the time to let the beans soak overnight to get tender so I always have a couple cans of garbanzo beans (or chick peas) in my pantry. This can be whipped up in the food processor or blender in about 5 minutes, serve with some toasted whole wheat pitas and you have one amazing appetizer, snack, whatever you want a call it, it’s GOOD!

Homemade Hummus

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed but liquid reserved
Juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons tahini, can be found in most supermarkets in the peanut butter aisle
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon smoked paprika

In a food processor or blender, combine the minced garlic, beans, lemon juice, tahini, cumin and salt. Set the speed on low and blend until evenly mixed, while on low begin to slowly stream in the reserved liquid from the beans. You want the mixture to become light and fluffy; this of course is to your preference but in all you will need about ½ a cup of the reserved liquid. Transfer to a medium bowl, sprinkle with smoked paprika and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Cut pitas into wedges drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of dry oregano. Make sure pitas are well coated on both sides with oil and herbs and pop into a preheated 325º oven for about 7 minutes. Serve along side hummus with carrot sticks, tomato wedges and olives for a healthy and delicious snack.