It's All Greek to Me

Oh. My. God. When Cook's Illustrated called it the Ultimate Hummus, they were not kidding. It has this rich, full, almost roasted flavor that I've never gotten using canned chick peas. It all started with my needing to find a use for two extra cucumbers that I had bought from the farmers' market two weeks ago. I thought about Greek salad, which is odd since I don't even like raw tomatoes. But I thought I'd give it a shot. Then I thought about making hummus, but this time with dried chick peas instead of canned ones. This, according to Cook's Illustrated, is the difference between regular hummus and the ultimate. I then found yesterday that Woodman's carries the awesome kind of pita bread, which is the super soft Greek kind. This is in their extensive refrigerated flatbread section which, for reference, is tucked behind the bakery department where they have 38 flavors of donut holes. And then I thought I should make some tzatziki sauce, just to round out the meal. The Ultimate Hummus
based on the Cook's Illustrated recipe

1 cup dried chick peas
1/4 cup water
1 tbs lemon juice
5 tbs tahini
2 tbs olive oil
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin

Rinse chick peas, and soak them in a bowl of water for about 12 hours, unrefrigerated. If you have heavily chlorinated water, used filtered or bottled water. Drain and simmer chick peas in fresh water for about an hour, until they're tender. Cool the chick peas and drain them, saving 1/4 cup of the water if there is enough remaining. Mix the saved water with the lemon juice in a small bowl, adding tap water if necessary. Mix the tahini and olive oil in another small bowl. Put the chick peas and garlic in a food processor, run it for a 20 seconds, and scrape down the bowl. With the processor running, add the water/juice mixture, followed by the tahini/oil, scraping down the sides in between. Add the salt and cumin, process for a few seconds and taste. If it's too dry, add a few tsp water. Continue to process until the hummus is smooth and light.

You can also make this with either a 14 or 19 ounce can of chick peas, and it's still better than any hummus you can buy in the supermarket, just drain and rinse them before using. For a spicier hummus, increase the cumin to 2 tsp, add 1 tsp paprika and 1/4 tsp chili powder.