Share your hummus recipes!

I've been trying for the last few months and mostly failing at producing a smooth, yummy and low-fat hummus. There are lots of resources on the internet and I've tried a few recipes out there, but I'm wondering what works best for you personally. I bought a jar of tahini but I've found I don't really enjoy it and the fat and calories are really incredible. I'm not sure it's something I'm interested in putting in my body! What do you use? What do you eat it on? What's your favourite recipe?

Thanks in advance!

a can of garbanzo beans, drained

3-6 cloves of garlic (i like a lot)

2 tsp of olive oil

2 tsp of lemon juice

a tsp of salt

then the fun part- throw in pretty much anything- roasted veggies, different kinds of beans, roasted hot peppers. i like it spicy.

the tahini is what makes it creamy and hummusy, but you can probably go without it if you don't like it, or add just like 2 tsp

blend it all up and enjoy!

This is my recipe

• 8 oz chickpeas
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 good tablespoon tahini (or to taste)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 6 oz water (approximately)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper... plenty
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Place all the ingredients with the exception of the water, oil and paprika into a blender and switch on.  Gradually add the water and keep blending until you have the right consistency... should be that of thick cream.   Turn into a bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

mmm i love hummus

I've come to the conclusion that hummus without tahini is not very good. I've tried making several variations of fat-free hummus and none ever taste that good. The recipe I use is:

1 onion sauted till translucent

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 can garbanzo beans

1/2 cup of tahini

3 Tbsp of water (add more if too thick)

Juice of 1 squeezed lemon

pinch of cayene pepper

1/3 cup of parsley

a pinch of black peper

salt to taste

Blend it up. Serve it with a little olive oil, paprika, and kalamata olives. I've also used black beans instead of chick peas, which is also good. Though I add slightly more black beans.

You might try another nut butter instead of tahini, but my guess is that they would have just as much fat/calories and might impart a weird taste.  I think you need at least a little tahini. 

My favorite variety of hummus is basil pesto... yum, I could eat that with a spoon...

I usually mix up the following in a food processor:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (reserve some of the liquid to add in while mixing)
• 2 tbsp Sesame Tahini (I suppose if you really don't like tahini you could halve this or omit it, but tahini is actually really healthy and a good source of calcium, and to me hummus is just not complete without it... perhaps adding enough lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings could mute the taste a bit?) 
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice (I like it tangy, but do it to taste, starting with 1 tbsp) 
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (I'm Italian, so I can't get enough garlic) 
• plenty of pepper and salt to taste

Process until smooth, adding in reserved chickpea-water or purified water if you prefer.

 Sometimes I like to add roasted red peppers (the kind that come in a jar, or I suppose you could roast your own) or tomatoes, or jarred tomato bruschetta (if you can find a good bruschetta it makes an absolutely delicious hummus). My college's dining hall makes a wicked basil hummus, and although I haven't tried to make it myself I assume you'd just add enough fresh or sauteed basil to the food-processor mix to get a good flavor, and I suppose spinach could work equally well--hummus is all about improvisation for me!