Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), drained, liquid reserved
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp Tahini

3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 jalapenos, seeded
1 cup cilantro leaves

Hummus is very versatile and can be made to suit your individual taste, so these measurements are just approx. of what I use for my taste, but I am tasting and adjusting as I go along. Many hummus recipes call for 1/3 cup or more of tahini, I prefer to use less as this is what gives hummus its bitter taste (and I like less of that). I add more garlic than many recipes call for because I like it garlicky. So add or subtract these main ingredients based on how you like your hummus. You can also use far less olive oil (or even no oil) by increasing the amount of liquid from the beans you use. I like the texture that olive oil gives it, so I don't reduce it, but the flavor is the same without it.

Directions:

I like to saute my garbanzo beans with the garlic first, but this step is also unnecessary. Cook the beans in a saute pan with the chopped garlic cloves until both just start to brown (not too much), add salt and pepper. (If you are skipping the cooking step, add salt and pepper with all the other ingredients in the next step).

Put beans, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, some of the reserved liquid from the canned beans in food processor. Add more liquid to get desired consistency (I usually use almost all of the reserved liquid, if you like it thicker, use less).

Add jalapenos and cilantro, puree until well blended. The beans, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini are the basic hummus ingredients. At this point, you can add anything that sounds good to you. I have made roasted red pepper hummus, feta, toasted pine nuts, basil pesto, sun dried tomato. Whatever sounds good to you. The jalapeno is my favorite though.

Blend olive oil into food processor last, until desired texture.

Stop and taste frequently throughout and adjust to your preferences. You can do this in a blender too if you don't have a food processor, works just as well.

The pictures are for a larger quantity as I made this for our super bowl party.

Serve with pita or naan or chips or veggies! Enjoy!