Back-to-Basics Hummus

According to Parade Magazine this week, Hummus is the new salsa!  Hummus consumption has increased by 1500% in the past decade!  I know I have certainly done my part to help drive that number up.  I think hummus should be one of the food groups, don't you?  I've tried complicated hummus recipes, with myriad ingredients, and I've also just blended garbanzo beans, lemon juice, and garlic in the food processor and called that hummus.  Everyone seems to have a favorite hummus recipe.  My favorite preparation includes a little tahini, less lemon than most recipes call for, and a lot of garlic.  Of course, I leave out the oil, which I don't even miss, especially with the tahini which adds a little natural oil and helps make the hummus smooth. 

"Back-to-Basics Hummus" (page 10) has the perfect set of ingredients - garbanzo beans, garlic, tahini, lemon, and a touch of cayenne for a nice glow.  The recipe also calls for olive oil, but I omitted this to be McDougall compliant.  I am very pleased with this recipe.  The texture, taste, and spiciness level are all spot on!  The only problem is, I didn't double the recipe…  On an aside, the first time I saw the word "hummus", it was listed on a blackboard menu at the natural foods co-op in my town.  They wrote it like this:  Hummus (a tune).  I thought that was the perfect way to let people know how it was pronounced, back when hummus wasn't quite so well known.