Help with Hummus

[whatchadurian]

So I've sprouted chickpeas and am wishing to make hummus. Unfortunately our WholeFoods does not carry tahini:mad: and all the recipes I see call for it. Does anyone have a good hummus recipe that doesn't call for tahini? Help!

[JennaBoBenna]

You could try almonds or almond butter

[whatchadurian]

Except that I've been unable to buy truly raw almonds and in the same respect, I'm not convinced about the rawness of the almond butter available here.

Any other ideas? My chickpeas are going to go south if I don't use them soon. :)

[lily]

You could try using sesame seeds instead. I just made a batch like that, and the flavour was wonderful, but even in the Vita-Mix the sesame seeds didn't grind up to a smooth paste, so I ended up with great-tasting hummus with 'bits' in it. Alternatively, you could grind up the sesame seeds first in the food processor -- if you do them for long enough, with pauses every so often to let the machine cool -- you'll end up with tahini anyway.

Hope this helps!

lily

[SharonC]

I grind up my sesame seeds in a coffee grinder - use this in tahini recipes.

[baltochef]

whatchadurian

For small batches of tahini, I too second using a coffee grinder..

My rule of thumb for a successful seed or nut butter in a food processor, is to add seeds until the upper blade is covered..

Anything less usually results in many, many more scrape downs, with incomplete pulveraztion..This is okay if you don't mind the crunch..

I usually end up having to add some good oil to the bowl to aid the seeds in moving around enough so the the blades can do their job..

However, in a 7-cup food processor, this results in several cups of tahini being produced..This is more than most home cooks need at one time, unless you are feeding a big, hungry family..

The beauty of the coffee grinder method is that you only have to grind what you need for immediate use..Seeds will last for up to a year stored in a cool, dark place..

Bruce

[LearningDaily]

To me the tahini adds that distinctive flavor to hummus, I wouldn't substitute. And I too use sesame seeds and grind them in a coffee grinder. Sesame seeds are pretty easy to get at the HFS.

[whatchadurian]

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and made the tahini using sunflower seeds instead and it was sadly, not a success. :eek:

I'll try your ideas the next time but I'm thinking that I really don't like the taste of the raw chickpeas. I've seen recipes for zucchini hummus and may have to try that first.

Any ideas about that....

[LearningDaily]

Let me know how the zucchini hummus turns out, I can't stand raw hummus either.

ETA: Well that was worded strangely. I mean that I don't care for hummus made from soaked chickpeas, it's a completely different texture that turns me right off.

[Troyanne]

LearningDaily/Seneca: yeah the only soacked chickpea recipe I like so far is Allissa's mock spicy refried beans... had extra chickpeas and did the hummus and boy did the hummus turn me right off ....

I have trouble always obtaining the fresh spices her recipes call for and often have to substitute with dried... am dehydrating my first set of mock sausages and chicken fingers, so we'll see how they turn out with dried marjoram (fresh wasn't available the other day)...

[richo270]

Hi All,

I am a big fan of Hummus, in fact I grow the Black Kabuli variety of chickpea in my garden. They do really well up here in Montana, maturing early in Aug.

Anyway, I wanted to give out a tip on making hummus out of sprouted chickpeas. It is true that the raw sprouted chickpeas do not taste very good. However, there is a trick to making good-tasting hummus out of sprouted chickpeas. What you do is to blanch them. Do this by bringing a large pot of water to a good rolling boil, removing it from the heat, and putting the sprouted chickpeas in the hot water for one minute. Then remove and cool.

Try this on a small amount, and you will be amazed at the change in taste from before and after this treatment. I know most folks here do not hold with cooking, but this is not really cooking, just a very quick hot water treatment that radically changes the taste to a more traditional hummus taste. Check it out.

[Bethanie]

I think i leave mine too long because they smell funny.
B.

[JennaBoBenna]

Try this on a small amount, and you will be amazed at the change in taste from before and after this treatment. I know most folks here do not hold with cooking, but this is not really cooking, just a very quick hot water treatment that radically changes the taste to a more traditional hummus taste. Check it out.

Sounds like cooking to me :/
Dunking them in hot, boiling water is still a form of heat over 110 degrees and kills nutrients.