Hummus Bi Tahini

A recipe of mine from 18 November 2004, Debi

I'm working from home today and I think I'll have Hummus Bi' Tahini made at home.

I'm doing a substitution -- limes instead of lemons since I have no lemons on hand. It's my first time to do that, but I bet it will turn out fine.

I drained the chickpeas, reserving some of the liquid. I processed the chickpeas, adding dashes of the reserved liquid to keep the beans moving. I don't like the mealy texture of chickpeas, so I puree really well.

When done pureeing, I added the juice of two limes, a teaspoon of minced garlic (equivalent to 2 cloves), and about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pureed more.

Tahini always separates, so every time you use it, you must stir it first to incorporate the oil back in. I used every drop of a quarter cup. While it purees you can see it change to the lighter, finished color. I then added a couple dashes of salt and another quick pulse on the food processor.

Now I always finger taste and will tinker with usually more tahini or lemon (lime) juice as I feel it needs. Today I actually added the second lime after my first taste, and another sprinkle salt. My taste test also told me I could have added a little more Tahini, but it was good enough and less calories this way.

Time to prepare: 15 minutes, or less.

To garnish, I made a little well and put in a tablespoon of olive oil. Sumac or pomegranates are traditional. I didn't have either, so I sprinkled with a scant amount of zaatar -- a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. Fresh parsley, or even bare would be fine, too.

And the last thing to do is to say, Sahtain! ("To your health!")

Three Bean Salad

Prepare vegetables:

• 3 cans of three different varieties of beans, rinsed and drained (I used white, kidney, and black)
  
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped small
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped small
  
• 1 bell pepper, chopped small
• 1 bunch purslane if you can get it, tear leaves off stem
  
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped fine
  
• 1 large cucumber, chopped small

Make vinaigrette and pour over vegetables:

• 1/4 cup vinegar, I prefer white wine or rice but any kind you have will do
  
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 limes or lemons, juiced
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt, I use Lawrey's California Style
  
• black pepper to taste

I started making this recipe when I lived in Lebanon. The abundance of fresh vegetables inspired me to try it and over the years I've refined it. Just this year I switched from parsley to cilantro and it makes it even better. You can keep it in the fridge for several days, so you can make a big batch and serve it at several meals. You can adjust the proportion of oil to vinegar to suit your taste. My family loves it and I hope yours does too!