Hummus is made up of Tahini,
Garbanzo Beans, Lemon Juice and garlic, just five ingredients but everyone
makes it differently. Just five ingredients and it can turn out right or so
wrong. At some point I got lazy and instead of just reserving part of the
garbanzo bean water for the recipe, I started throwing the whole can in
recklessly. I didn’t think anyone would notice it’s less-than-creamy
consistency in the Tupperware container. At first, the recipient, I’ll call her
“Mother”, taking a stab at it with her pita bread merely said, “It’s the taste
that matters,” and ate heartily. She asked me to make some every other time we
spoke. Life happened those next three weeks and I couldn’t. Sometimes I didn’t
have the Tahini and sometimes I ran out of lemons. Her voice became more and more strained each time she asked
about my next batch. When are you going
to visit me next?
A month went by and I thought about
making the hummus for her all the time. I became resentful. Why does she love Armenian food so much?
She’s Argentinian. I almost never had Tahini on hand, that key ingredient
because it would always go bad just before I needed it, the contents of the jar
turning dark with anger. Finally one day I got desperate and a light bulb went
off. I would make my own Tahini.
I’ve always been resourceful in a pinch, remembered the bag
of sesame seeds in the pantry and Googled. Make your own Tahini with toasted
sesame seeds and olive oil, the first page promised. I dumped the seeds onto
the black cast iron pan and toasted with desperation. I hope this turns out.
Here's my simple version:
Toast half a cup of sesame seeds until fragrant and slightly brown. Watch carefully as they burn quickly. Place slightly cooled sesame seeds into food processor and slowly add olive oil until you make a pasty consistency. Refrigerate up to a week or sell at Farmer's Market for ten dollars.
Here's my simple version:
Toast half a cup of sesame seeds until fragrant and slightly brown. Watch carefully as they burn quickly. Place slightly cooled sesame seeds into food processor and slowly add olive oil until you make a pasty consistency. Refrigerate up to a week or sell at Farmer's Market for ten dollars.