One of the main attributes of proper hummus is its rather claggy, bland, chalkiness. While that doesn't sound particularly appealing, real hummus is quite delicious and I used to make it, and some delicious and non-authentic derivatives of it, all the time when L. was little (as a vehicle to get raw vegetables from plate to mouth.)
This evening I made a veggie-centric dinner and felt that I needed a hummus like substance to bring the entire dish together. I decided on a green hummus loaded with coriander, garlic and preserved lemon. Again, this is in no way authentic because, not only did I make up my own recipe, but I used canned chickpeas rather than rehydrating dried chickpeas, cooking them and peeling them. I love cooking but perhaps not quite that much when it is 8O out and humid and the oven is at 400 roasting vegetables and baking yogurt flatbreads...
This makes about a cup of hummus
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1 to 2 cloves garlic (depending on your tolerance for the stuff)
1 Tbsp chopped preserved lemon
1 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp nut oil (I used pumpkin seed but walnut or hazelnut would work well too. Or just use olive oil, no biggie, if you have none to hand)
Juice from one lemon
Splash of your favorite hot sauce
Pinch of salt
Blitz everything together in the blender until you have a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning - more heat, acidity, or salt - and serve as you would any other hummus. I served mine at the bottom of a dish of roasted and steamed vegetables (see below) but as an appetizer with pita chips this would be nice too.
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