For years I really had no idea what hummus was, I just knew there was a special complexity of Mediterranean flavors involved! I actually wasn't a fan the first few times I'd had it, maybe my taste buds hadn't matured yet lol.
Garbanzo beans aka chick peas was an ingredient I used quite often when I made curried chicken or Indian dishes. I'd seen a few recipes on baked chick peas but I haven't tried it yet! The reason I actually made hummus was I purchased some as a snack at work and I was soooo good with pita bread. Thus, my inspiration...
Chick peas are a relatively inexpensive food that can be found in any canned goods aisle. Personally, I'm to busy to be soaking beans and what not. I need food items that can be prepped easily with nutrious value so I will use canned food sometimes in place of raw beans.
One ingredient that I wasn't familiar with was Tahini, apparently this is a huge part of making legit hummus and I'm glad I added it! Tahini is essentially ground sesame seeds and has a very unique flavor that I really couldn't pin point. Nonetheless I purchased it, the bottle was about $9 dollars in the peanut butter aisle.
Quick Chick Pea facts:
- is a legume
- no cholesterol
- low fat
- good protien source
- lots of potassium
- easily prepared and flavored
- low cost
