Powerhouse Hummus

I'll be visiting family in Italy and Spain for the next few weeks, so postings will be a little less frequent. Enjoy your winter break! In the meantime, I'm making some Hummus to bring on the airplane and thought I'd share this very good recipe from Renee Loux Underkoffler's book, Living Cuisine.

By sprouting the chick peas you are greatly increasing the nutrition in the hummus and simultaneously making it easier to digest and assimilate. Make sure you really rinse them well or the taste will be too starchy. I also recommend steaming the sprouts to make them more digestible.

1 cup garbanzo beans

1-2 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

4-6 tablespoons raw sesame tahini

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil (or sesame)

2 teaspoons sun dried sea salt

In a glass jar with a mesh or screen covering, soak garbanzo beans in 3 cups filtered water for 6-8 hours.

Drain off soak water and rinse and drain again. Allow to stand upside-down, at an angle, to drain (in a dish rack or in the sink).

Rise and drain in the morning and evening for 2-4 days, until the beans sprout tails that are as long as the beans.

In a food processor, chop sprouted garbanzo beans to a pulp. Put chopped beans in a strainer and generously rise until the starch is drained away and the rise water is clear. Additionally, the beans can be blanched or steamed after being rinsed.

In the food processor, finely chop garlic and parsley. Add rinsed garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil, and blend until creamy. Season with salt to taste.

Great with falafel, olives and pita bread!