Felice wrote on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:57:21 -0500:

> 2 cups chickpeas (dried and cooked until soft)
> 1/2 cup well-stirred Al Wahdi tahini, from Lebanon
> 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
> 2 good-sized garlic cloves
> juice of 1 lemon
> a bunch of salt and some white pepper

> I added quite a but of olive oil to keep it moving in the
> processor (it wouldn't budge in the blender, and was THAT a
> nasty job scraping it out and transferring it). I've seen a
> number of other suggestions -- lemon zest, chili powder,
> cumin, paprika -- but decided to go basic the first time around.
> Middle Eastern is not my forte.

> So can anyone help me jazz it up a bit?

Using lime juice ( a Mexican idea) instead of lemon produces a superior
result, IMHO, and a little cumin, as suggested, is good. I'd sprinkle
chili pepper or hot paprika on top. A few drops of toasted sesame oil
works wonders. Fresh cilantro is also good unless you are in the
significant minority who are genetically programmed to dislike it.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not