eclaire (what’s in a) name?

i’ve been on a quest for many years to find the perfect hummus. up until this year, the quest merely centered around store-bought hummus. it’s been a hard quest, replete with purchasing different types of hummus every week and then sampling them with veggies and pita chips – exhausting work, i tell you!

i finally narrowed down my favorite store-bought hummus, which comes from aunt nettie’s kitchen. it’s super fresh, still a little chunky, and has a perfect balance of lemony sourness and garlicky spiciness that dances on any vehicle you use to get it into your mouth.

after i resolved my inquiry and taste testing of the store-bought hummus options, i decided to move on to try to find the perfect hummus recipe. this proved to be quite a bit more difficult, as there are SO MANY hummus recipes out there!

most of the recipes i tested were ok – nothing amazing, but nothing too terrible to consume either. certainly none worthy of sharing with all of you.

but then! a month or so ago, my friends and i set off on a hike into the forest of nisene marks. during a snack break on the 10-mile trek, my good friend jamie (we go way back to junior high school!) pulled out a container of hummus and some veggies to dip. this homemade hummus, the result of jamie’s own experiments with making homemade hummus, was absolutely amazing. it had the perfect blend of spices and tartness and something else that i couldn’t quite put my finger on. when i pressed her for details, she shared her secret ingredient (and she’s also ok’d me sharing with you): ice cubes. i know, you’re thinking: “what can ice cubes do for hummus?” trust me, though, they transform a good hummus recipe into a fabulous one!

jamie was kind enough to not only share the secret ingredient with both me and all of you, but also to let me borrow the delicious recipe to blog it in its entirety. it’s a treasure of a recipe, one that i’ve made more times than i can count since she sent it to me, and one that completely replaces any thoughts of buying hummus at the store.

when i offered to bring veggies to our fifth-annual cinco de mustache party, i knew this dip would make the perfect compliment, as well as the perfect opportunity to photograph the process. i hope you borrow this hummus recipe, make it soon, and enjoy immensely!

jamie’s hummus

yields 2c of hummus

• 15oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon, juiced
• long drizzle of olive oil
• 2 ice cubes
• palm full of ground cumin
• palm full of cayenne
• palm full of ground coriander
• salt to taste
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1. add chick peas, 1 clove garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, ice cubes, cumin, cayenne, coriander, and salt in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth
2. taste the mixture and add more garlic or spices or salt as desired – just keep adjusting and adding until you love the taste
3. try not to eat all of the mixture while test-tasting, then serve with fresh veggies or pita chips