Sometimes eating locally expands to encompass global goodness. This recipe started with the gift of some white tepary beans grown during the blistering hot summer of the Sonoran desert in Southern Arizona by the Tohono O’odham, Native American “River People and Desert People”. A half cup serving of cooked beans (1/4 cup dried)has 14 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein making it a very healthy and economical food source.
Hummus, of course, is a well known Middle Eastern and Mediterranean staple that may be made in many different versions. This version reflects the Sonoran desert origin of the beans. Pita bread is a favorite vehicle for hummus so I made some using my favorite white whole wheat flour from Judith Redmond’s Full Belly Farm in Yolo County’s Capay valley.
To add to the influence from different parts of the world, playing on the iPod was my all time favorite vocalist, Aretha Franklin, doing “A Natural Woman” and Melba Moore with an inspiring version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.
And, I am finally starting to use dried beans.
Global “Hummus”
About 24 1/4 cup servings
2 cups dried white beans (don’t have to necessarily be tepary beans)
10 cups water
1/3 cup olive oil
About ½ cup lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
¾ tsp cumin seeds, toasted in a skillet then ground
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons capers, rinsed
Habanero hot sauce or Tabasco sauce to taste
More cilantro and lemon wedges for garnish
Spread the beans out in a baking dish and discard any little stones. Tepary beans don’t need to be soaked overnight. Add the beans to the water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer partially covered. Mine became very tender in a little over 2 hours. Follow the instructions for whatever kind of dried beans you use which may require soaking them overnight first. Drain the beans reserving the cooking liquid. Either using a food processor, a hand held blender, or a mashing utensil, mix in the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and enough cooking liquid to achieve the desired consistency. I like it a little lumpy. Mix in the ground cumin, capers, and cilantro. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Garnish if you wish.
Calories: 90
Fat: 3 gm
Saturated fat: 0 gm
Trans fat: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrate: 12 gm
Fiber: 5 gm
Sodium: 72 mg
Protein: 4 gm
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I noticed that not all recipes indicate the serving size with the nutrition information. Note: True. We started doing that last fall and the recipes have been collected for about 5 years. We may get to analyze more of them over time. Meanwhile, if there is something that looks good, just try a normal size serving. If you are on a strict enough diet then the recipes may not be for you. Dr. M
Dried beans are fantastic, because you can bring them with you anywhere (like space food). I use it often when I take my family camping. There's this middle eastern restaurant in my neighborhood that servers fresh hummus. They would create a little "pool" of olive oil in the middle for presentation.
Is there a nutritional benefit to omitting Tahini from the hummus recipe? Tahini can be hard to find in stores, but it can be easily made at home with 5 cups of toasted sesame seeds ground with 1.5 cups olive oil or vegetable oil. You would add a tablespoon or so of Tahini and decrease the amount of olive oil in your recipe.
Also, I wanted to say I love this site and all the thought you put into using fresh and seasonal produce!
Note:There's no benefit particularly of omitting tahini. I just did this particular recipe to celebrate the Native American beans. Thanks for your tip on how to make your own. Great suggestion. Dr. M
Instead of remembering to soak beans over night place beans in boiling water and let sit one hour. Rinse and they are ready to cook. A deli owner turned me on to this trick. It works really well and quicker. Note: Great tip. Who better to know than a deli owner. Thanks for sharing. Dr. M
I'm glad to know hummus, one of my very favorite things, can be made using other kinds of beans, not having to use soybeans because as I understand it, the spike in hypothyroidism in America does seem to coordinate with the trendiness of adding more soybeans to ones diet. Am I wrong? note: I don't have personal knowledge about the effect of soy on thyroid disease. Dr. M
The garlic is a must. It gives it a mouth-watering aroma and flavor to the hummus. You'll want to dip everything in it: pita bread, carrots, tortilla chips, etc. Dr. Maring, I like my hummus lumpy, too. When it's too watery, it looses its texture and makes it very hard to dip (everything would just drip right off).
I love this site! Note: Right on about garlic and lumps. Thx for writing. Dr. M