Great for snacking while awaiting the arrival of holiday dinner, this easy to make hummus can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes flat, though I always advocate for some chilling out time in the fridge so flavours can get to know each other properly. Serve with crisp fresh vegetables, crackers, and pita triangles.

Classic Hummus

YIELD: six ⅓ cup servings | PREP: 5-15 mins (see below) | COOK: n/a

1 15-oz/425g tin of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained with ¼ cup liquid reserved*
1 tbsp/15mL tahini (ground sesame seed paste) OR creamy peanut butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup/60mL fresh lemon juice
½ tsp/1g cumin
½ tsp/3g salt
2 tbsp/27g olive oil
¼ tsp/0.5g coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbsp/11g fresh parsley, minced finely

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and salt, and purée until mixture is very smooth and not gritty or lumpy. Scrape down the sides of container at least once during processing. If hummus is too thick at this point, drizzle in some of the reserved canning liquid to thin it out. Taste for salt at this point.
Scrape out hummus into serving container. When ready to serve, smooth top but leave a shallow divot around circumference of hummus; pour olive oil overtop into divot, and sprinkle with black pepper and parsley.

*for even smoother hummus, gently remove the skins from chickpeas with your fingers before puréeing them; you will be amazed at the significant difference this makes to the final product.

NOTE: if you have the time, you can also rehydrate 1 cup of dried chickpeas overnight in a bowl of cool, clean water overnight, then drain and rinse. Place chickpeas into medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot, cover with 2” water and ¼ tsp of baking soda (this gives a creamier texture to the final product). Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour or until chickpeas are tender but not mushy. Drain and (optionally) remove skins from beans. Continue with recipe above.