When I first started out working in New York City, I lived in Hoboken, NJ with one of my college roommates. I had grown up on homemade hummus, but my food processor at the time was one of those mini-prep food processors handed down from my mom. Making hummus in this mini-prep was impossible and messy! We started to buy Sabra hummus and Stacy’s pita chips at the grocery store because of the ease and we soon became addicted! We would eat an entire container for dinner some nights.
Before Christmas, my boyfriend Matt returned from a business trip in Israel, he too has discovered the love for hummus and pita chips. When we went to visit my family, my mom had made homemade hummus and whole wheat pita chips. With a mouthful of hummus and pita chips Matt asked, “why haven’t you ever made this for me?” Truthfully, I forgotten about how delicious and easy to make homemade hummus was. Now that I had a large-sized food processor there were no more excuses.
I have been making a batch of hummus and pita chips every weekend since we have come home. The first batch I made was too garlicky, the second batch was a little too dry, but by the third batch I had perfected the recipe. Here it is to share!
- 2 cloves of garlic, inside green stem removed*
- 4 tbsp. chickpea water (the liquid from the chickpea can)
- 2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed thoroughly
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 6 tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 2 lemons)
- 2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 10 splashed of hot sauce (I used Franks, so if using a more concentrated hot sauce start with less)
- Cut garlic in half to remove the green centers.
- Next cut the cloves into even sized pieces and throw them into the bowl of your food processor. Turn the food processor on and break the garlic up into smaller pieces.
- Add chickpeas, 2 tbsp of chick pea water, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and hot sauce. Process for about 30 seconds, add in additional 2 tbsp of water, food process again until desired thickness.
- Whole wheat pocket pitas
- 2-4 tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with non-stick silicone mats or parchment paper.
- With a bread or serrated knife take a pita and cut into 8 equal triangles (like a pizza.) Take each triangle and peel into two pieces (using pocket pitas). Repeat for all pitas.
- Starting with 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a small bowl use a pastry brush to brush each side of the pita with olive oil. Use additional olive oil as needed.
- Spread the pitas out on two baking sheets and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time for 8 minutes, turning pitas halfway through and baking an additional 4-5 minutes until golden brown
- Repeat for second batch, let pitas cool and store in a airtight container until serving.
Source- Both Hummus and Pitas are adapted from Ina Garten
