Tuesday July 12, 2005

Miami Hummus

This is the first Critical Miami exclusive recipe. Super-delicious, and equally suitable for broke-ass-living and fancy entertaining. The only downside is the need for a food processor, but you can get one cheap these days (get a big one, preferably with as few “features” as possible). What makes it “Miami” is the lime and the black beans; a more traditional variation substitutes lemon juice and skips the black beans.

2 19oz. cans of CHICKPEAS
1 15oz. can of BLACK BEANS
1 regular can of TAHINI
1 (or more) cloves or GARLIC
1/4 cup of OLIVE OIL
2 LIMES
1 tablespoon CUMIN
SALT, PEPPER, and CAYENNE

Crush and peel as many cloves of garlic as you dare, but keep in mind that you will be eating them raw, so be careful. Pop in a food processor with a few chickpeas, and let it rip a few seconds (just enough to give the food processor a chance to chop up the garlic). Juice the limes and add the juice, and all the other ingredients, and process until super-smooth. When possible, remove from fridge a couple of hours before serving – tastes best at room-temperature. Notes for non-experts:

  1. The lime juice is to taste; you may want to add it bit by bit and taste each time, but don’t be afraid to make it strong.
  2. The cayenne is totally optional. Also feel free to add other stuff; roasted peppers might work?
  3. Progresso black beans work well for this, because the sauce in the can is relatively thin, and easier to rinse. Kirby is much better for black beans and rice, when you will want to use the sauce.
  4. Supposedly it is possible to do this in a blender instead of a food processor, but be careful, do small batches, and add extra lime juice (or water) to make everything thinner and keep from frying your blender.
  5. Tahini is paste made from sesame seeds. Find it in the Kosher section of Publix. Cumin is in the spice isle (spring for the more expensive stuff).

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  1. Miami Harold    Tue Jul 12, 09:18 PM #  

    How appropriate that this post appears twice:
    the amount of “repetition” one’s body will perform
    during the process of consuming this flammable dish
    could probably power an airboat through the Everglades,
    leaving wildlife panting for breath in its toxic wake.

  2. alesh    Tue Jul 12, 09:47 PM #  

    harold is right; sometimes i hit the “publish” button and the internet craps out, posting the article twice (now fixed).

    If you stick to one clove of garlic and a dash of cayenne, it’s pretty mild stuff, though.

  3. tommy    Wed Jul 13, 10:13 AM #  

    This dish will be greatly enhanced if you roast the garlic in the oven first. Simply coat a head of garlic with olive oil and a pinch of salt, wrap it in aluminum foil, roast for 30 minutes @ 400.
    squeze the garlic into the blender

  4. Chad Harris    Wed Jul 13, 04:14 PM #  

    I had it for lunch yesterday, at work. Yum.