Hummus

High’s Café is located in Comfort, Texas (about twenty-three miles south of Fredericksburg). In addition to their tasty sandwiches and homemade soups, friends Brent and Denise make the best hummus ever. A wonderful informal party appetizer, hummus is easy to make, healthy, and a favorite for kids and adults alike. I serve it with toasted pita wedges and either carrot or celery sticks (or both) for dipping.

I love hummus, but ever since I had the justifiably famous spicy version at Sahadi’s, a Middle Eastern specialty foods shop in Brooklyn, I’m not satisfied with the tame stuff anymore. This is not their recipe, but it wasn’t hard to add a little fire to my favorite one, which uses more water than you might think, resulting in a particularly silky hummus. Eat some immediately, of course, with crackers or bread or whatever suits your fancy, but make sure to save some for Eggplant and Spicy Hummus Flatbread (page 115), and refrigerate the rest for up to 2 weeks, during which time you can use it as a sandwich spread or even thin it out with vinegar to make a salad dressing. A shortcut, obviously, is to add the pepper-infused olive oil to your favorite store-bought hummus.

Elderly fava beans are possibly not on everyone’s shopping list, but in late July, when their sugar has turned to starch and their skins are as thick as writing paper, I have still made a good meal of them. They make a fresh-tasting hummus that always surprises people with its green notes. A silk purse out of a sow’s ear if ever there was one. There is another recipe for this in The Kitchen Diaries, but with dill. Good with bread, roast lamb, even alongside a piece of grilled fish. Like the popular chickpea recipe, somewhat addictive.

This is a most excellent appetizer and it couldn’t be easier to make. You just put everything in the blender and it’s done in about 30 seconds. You can’t beat that.

Sometimes I feel like the United Nations is meeting in my kitchen. This time around it’s India and Lebanon at the table. It sounds exotic, but this is really just a nice, simple hummus (that’s the Lebanese part) with a zingy curry buzz (hello, Sri Lanka). Chickpeas are rich in protein and essential amino acids for keeping the body strong, while the sesame seeds in the tahini have high levels of anticancer phytochemicals; and since the seeds are ground into a paste, they’re easy to digest.

I used black beans in this recipe because I love their taste and nutritional profile—lots of antioxidants. Because the beans are pureed, you don’t get too much bang for your buck.

A classic Middle Eastern dip for scooping onto wedges of pita bread.

This rustic dip is an easy way to add bright flavor and color (and vegetables!) to the hors d'oeuvre table.

Swapping chickpeas for edamame gives your go-to party dip a new flavor twist—and a festive green hue—while still packing in plenty of filling fiber and protein.

Chickpeas are among the best legumes, and this is among the best recipes you can prepare with them, an eons-old Middle Eastern classic. Generally, I’m not a big fan of canned beans, but for whatever reason canned chickpeas are not bad at all, and I always keep some on hand so I can make a batch of this at the last minute, to use as a dip or a spread. You can make hummus without tahini; it will be a little looser and less complex tasting but still good.

Pack carrot and celery sticks along with this lemony hummus.

A bright, beautiful spring appetizer.

This luscious (but healthy) dip is great with pita chips or raw vegetables.

Serve with cucumber rounds, red bell pepper strips, and sticks of jicama.

This dip is also nice with raw vegetables.

If you don't have time to make your own hummus, buy some at the market or specialty foods store, and mix in chipotle chilies and cumin to taste.

In this modified version of the Middle Eastern garbanzo bean dip, yogurt is used to replace some of the high-fat tahini (sesame seed paste). The dip is great with fresh vegetables or toasted pita bread wedges. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.