PAPRIKA HUMMUS – PAPRIKÁS HUMMUS

This is a Mid Eastern hummus topped with a bit of Hungarian attitude. It’s pretty authentic until you add the paprikás onions. Now there are few items I am willing to use canned and chickpeas happen to be one of them. Chickpeas must be the only canned vegetable that have no canned taste. If we needed more I would have cooked the chickpeas myself, but since we didn’t, opening a can of chickpeas made a lot of sense. There are claims that canned chickpeas should be rinsed or they will make the hummus bitter. This is incorrect. The bitterness of hummus comes from using too much tahini and not from the chickpeas. The rinsing comes into the picture only when you cook the chickpeas yourself, but that’s a different story altogether. Use no more than 1 Tbsp of tahini for a can of chickpeas and your hummus will never taste bitter.

PAPRIKA HUMMUS

1 can of chick peas, drained -- not rinsed, liquid reserved
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp tahini [no more]
1/2 lemon, juice of
pinch of salt
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp Hungarian paprika

• Blend or process chick peas, garlic, tahini, and lemon juice.

• If the mixture is too dry and won't process, add a little chick pea liquid.

• Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice.

• Add a 1/4 cup of olive oil and blend or process until fairly smooth.

• Make the paprikás sauce.

• Dice 1/4 of a medium onion.

• Place 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a non stick fry pan.

• Add the onions; and on medium heat sauté until very soft.

• Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp of Hungarian paprika.

• Make a well in the center and scatter around the paprikás onions.

• Serve hummus with soft flat breads, or with a whole wheat baguette [long skinny  

  French bread] and roasted peppers, or with a variety of vegetable crudities.