The secret of Victor's best hummus

By popular demand: Victor's hummus! Whenever there's a party, Victor brings his world class hummus with a bunch of pita chips and groovy things to eat. And every time, someone will ask Victor how he makes his hummus. Look no further, here's the secret. Revealed.

First, I'll tell you why I make hummus. Part of my family is Lebanese, so they've always loved Middle Eastern food. When my grandfather first came from Lebanon to the Caribbean, he brought with him a bunch of chickpeas. That's not how the real story goes, but suffice it to say that he eats hummus pretty much every day as an afternoon snack. He eats it with galletas Export Sodas, but unless you're from the Caribbean, you wouldn't know what those are.

Well, my grandmother had to learn how to cook all that wonderful Lebanese food, so my dad and my uncles grew up eating that food. Aparently, your culinary tastes are part of a dominant gene that hasn't been found yet (I'm making this up), so it comes to reason that I like hummus.

Still, my mom, who has no Lebanese genes whatsoever, is the one who taught me how to make hummus. This recipe has been in the family for quite a while, so I'm probably doing someone a disservice by revealing these well-kept secrets. Or maybe not.

So, without further ado, I present thee: Victor's Best Hummus(tm)

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas. I've tasted various brands and I keep going back to Goya. Drain them, but save the liquid for later.
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 - 3 tablespoons tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
• pinch of paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• pita chips to eat as a dip

The methodology is easy: throw everything (except the pita chips, duh) in a food processor and grind to a pasty consistency. Add some of the liquid from the chickpeas until it's the desired consistency. Check the salt, but canned chickpeas already have a bit of salt. You can also squeeze more lemon juice if you prefer.

To serve, you can sprinke with some paprika, drizzle some olive oil on top, place a few whole garbanzo beans on top, whatever you want to do. It always looks nice.

Also, if you don't have pita chips you can use regular pita. Or tear up some pita into smaller pieces and put in the toaster oven until crunchy. Yummy!

Victor recommends: 

Goya, Bean Chick Peas, 15.5-Ounce (24 Pack)

Manufacturer: Goya

Part Number:

Price: $28.56

Tahini, Ground Sesame Seeds (ziyad) 2lb

Manufacturer: ziyad

Part Number:

Price: