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 Posted By: GregGraves 
Aug 13  # 1 of 11
  • 1 pound pan chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon pimento, chopped

Drain and discard liquid from chickpeas. Place the chickpeas in a blender or food processor along with parsley, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and whipping cream. Cover and blend until smooth. Place in a container, cover and refrigerate. To serve, garnish with finely chopped pimentos. Use slices of raw cucumber, slices of turnip, pita bread or toasted bread to eat.
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 Posted By: KYHeirloomer 
Aug 15  # 2 of 11
Did you forget the tahini, Greg? Or did you leave it out intentionally?
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 Posted By: GregGraves 
Aug 15  # 3 of 11
I've never made hummus with tahini. I've looked up tahini and it sounds interesting. I like the taste of sesame oil in Asian recipes. Can you tell me if tahini adds a similar taste to sesame oil or is it stronger/weaker?
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 Posted By: KYHeirloomer 
Aug 15  # 4 of 11
Classic hummus is made with chickpeas and tahini, plus the other stuff. Here's a Lebanese version:

Hummus Bi Tahini

After soaking and cooking a cup of chickpeas, press them through a sieve or food mill, adding 2 tbls of the cooking liquid to separate the peas from their skins.

Slowly blend in 1/3 cup tahini, a scant half cup lemon juice, and 2 cloves garlic crushed in a mortar with some salt.

Tahini doesn't taste anything like sesame oil (which, most times, is toasted). Think of peanut butter made from sesame seeds instead of peanuts, and you'll have an idea of what it is.

Tahini is a staple of Mid-eastern cookery. Hummus is just one of many familiar dishes made with it. Baba Ghannouj (baa baa ganush) is another.

Ana Sortun, in her "Spice" has an interesting recipe for avocado hummus, which is used as a base for fried squid. I don't care for her squid recipe--it uses cornmeal for the breading, which makes a crunchy breading that's all about the coating instead of the calamari. But the avocado hummus is great. I've used it with my own fried calamari, and with other seafood dishes.

Recently I saw a variation on the theme that used black beans instead of chickpeas. It sounded real good, and I want to give it a try.
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 Posted By: oldbay 
Aug 15  # 5 of 11
I love to try different foods, especially those with interesting tastes, and seasonings. Indian, Filipino and Vietnamese cooking is where I venture more often. So personally, I haven't had much Middle Eastern meals, except for at a kabob place near my office. What I'd love to know how to make kabobs that taste as good as they make. We have the skewers but have never been successful at making a nice kabob.

I searched the web for the Ana Sortun reference and it's a printed cookbook. Here's the link Spice by Ana Sortun.