Hummus. (Pronounced Who-moose. Not Hum-miss.) It’s the new everything. Well, not exactly new. The first recorded recipes for hummus bi tahina come from 13th century Cairo cookbooks. The basic ingredients have been eaten in the Mediterranean Middle East for millennia. It is experiencing a surge of popularity here in the US, and is a part of daily meals in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey. The real question is why would you ever buy store-bought hummus? If you own a food processor and a can opener, there is no reason whatsoever to buy hummus. You can make it in a matter of minutes, vary the ingredients to suit your mood and it tastes a million times better than most of the commercial stuff out there. Oh yeah, you do have to wash the Cuisinart afterwards, but it is a small price to pay for something that is so deliciously superior to anything that comes out of a can or a plastic container. Classic hummus is nothing more than cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas), garlic, lemon juice, and sesame tahini (a thin paste made from ground sesame seeds). You can dress it up as you like, change the beans, add roasted peppers, spinach, hot chiles, herbs, spices whatever. It is immensely versatile, nutritious, healthful and so, so easy to make.

I adapted this recipe for these delightful little morsels from one posted on Forks over Knives by Anne and Jane Esselstyn. It’s from the Prevent and Reverse Disease Cookbook, and features a delicious green onion hummus. Masquerading as deviled eggs, they make fabulous hors d’oeuvres, or an accompaniment to any meal. Be sure to get tiny potatoes and don’t eat them all before your guests arrive.

Vegan-friendly, gluten-free, non-dairy, low-fat, all those good things, fun to eat and delicious to boot.

 

Makes 24-30 and takes about 40 minutes.

For the Green Onion Hummus:

1- 14 ounce can of garbanzo beans drained and rinsed

3 Tablespoons of Sesame Tahini

¼ cup water

2 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 peeled cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard (or to taste)

1 cup chopped green onions (3-4)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or to taste)

Zest of one lemon

1-2 Tablespoons additional lemon juice

Pinch of salt (optional)

fresh ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground turmeric powder

 

For the Devils

12-15 baby red or purple potatoes about the size of large walnuts or small clementines

Smoked paprika for garnish

1 green onion thinly sliced for garnish.

 

Scrub potatoes. Put a steamer insert into a 4 quart sauce pan and add about 2 inches of water. Cover and steam for 20 minutes or just until they are tender. Remove and plunge into cold water or rinse for a few minutes to cool. While the potatoes are steaming, make the hummus.

Put garbanzo beans, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, spicy brown mustard, water, pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper in your full-sized food processor. I usually mix the tahini with the lemon beforehand and add the water gradually to make a cream the consistency of thin pancake batter. The tahini gets very stiff initially after adding the lemon, but once you add the water it thins out nicely. Or you can just put everything in at once and add a little water as it blends to get the desired consistency.

(Note: For “classic” hummus, omit the mustard. Spread out on a plate and top with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of paprika and a sprinkle of parsley. So now you know.)

Process for one minute or more until smooth and creamy. Turn into a mixing bowl and add the lemon zest, Dijon mustard, green onions, additional lemon juice to taste, and turmeric.

Mix until it is well blended and correct seasoning.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in half and scoop out a little hole with a melon baller or small spoon. You can use the insides for potato salad or just eat them as you go.

 

You can make the whole thing ahead of time up to this point. The potatoes can sit out covered for an hour or so, but if you aren’t going to fill the potatoes right away, cover the hummus and refrigerate. You can refrigerate the potatoes too and assemble the ‘Devils’ the next day, but they taste best at room temperature.

Fill each potato with a dollop of hummus, sprinkle on a pinch of smoked paprika and top with the minced green onion.

They will keep perfectly well for an hour or so covered with plastic wrap, and are even good the next day.

Please let me know how you like these. We have made them a few times in the past week, and never seem to tire of them. Enjoy.