[BethC]

I kind of think it is, it's basically Chick peas and oil, but I don't know how much oil... Any thoughts?

[aphil]

Hummus is not Core. It contains chick-peas and oil, but one of the defining ingredients that flavors hummus is tahini-a nut butter-which is not Core. The other ingredients in it like the spices and lemon juice are Core...but without tahini it isn't going to have the flavor.

[chrisypoo]

When I make hummus from scratch I leave the tahini out because I don't like it. You loose a little bit of the flavor, but I didn't think it made that much of a difference. And I add extra garlic to give it extra flavor.

[spryng]

Ok, I've seen hummus in the stores but what is it used for? Is it a dip or a spread and if so for what?? What does it taste like??

[chrisypoo]

You can use it either as a dip or a spread. Normally you'd have it with toasted pita triangles, but it's good to use as a dip for fresh veggies, too. The main ingredient it chick peas, so it tastes like that with added garlic and nutty (if you add tahini, which is sesame butter) flavors.

Here's a recipe I found at allrecipes.com:


INGREDIENTS:

* 2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
* 1/2 cup roasted tahini (omit if you want this to be Core)
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, minced
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/4 cup packed flat leaf parsley
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, and green onion in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth, adding water if the mixture is too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This makes a lot, so you can definately half the recipe.

[aphil]

Yeah...but hummus isn't very good without the tahini...JMHO.

[lhendricks]

I've made hummus without tahini for years. If you have some sesame oil, the dark flavorful kind, you could add a few teaspoons of that for flavor w/o all the calories. You can add other items for flavor, a little grated lemon peel or roasted red peppers, freshly ground black pepper, maybe roasted garlic.

[aphil]

Well...sesame oil would add the same sesame flavor as the tahini...so that would be a good replacement. Hummus without any sesame at all is just a little bland for me personally.