Hummus Recipe

Hummus bi-Tahina

* 1 cup chickpeas
* 1 cup tahina sauce *
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* olive oil
* parsley leaves
* chili powder
* one clove garlc pressed juice
* slices of lemon

Soak the dried chickpeas overnight. Drain, add fresh water, and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain. Set aside a spoonful of whole chickpeas for decoration and mash or pound the rest. Add tahina sauce* and lemon juice to chickpeas and blend to a smooth paste. Sprinkle top with olive oil and garnish with whole chickpeas, finely chopped parsley, chili powder and slices of lemon (optional).

Variations: Canned chickpeas may be used and therefore omitting the soaking and simmering step. You may use a food processor or blender to make the puree. Being a local or baladi recipe, the amount of lemon juice may vary according to taste from 1 up to 6 tablespoons. However, I would recommend using fresh ingredients.