This week, a friend asked me to post a recipe for hummus. This is a somewhat controversial issue: just ask someone from Jerusalem or Beirut. People in the Middle East are totally obsessed with this creamy stuff, as you can see by the gigantic vat above (weighing 23,520 pounds) prepared by Lebanese chefs who set the latest Guinness world record—beating Israel, which had previously beat Lebanon. So there’s the Galilee hummus or the Jerusalem kind, with or without fava beans, topped with warm chickpeas or served without. I suppose it’s like masala or gumbo, with every good chef developing his own version. Mine was inspired by a horseradish-laced hummus I once bought at Whole Foods. I was never able to find it again and, after hankering for it for months, I finally concocted the version which I humbly offer you here.

Hummus (the Arabic word for chickpea)—also spelled hamos, homos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos or hummous—is traditionally made from chickpeas and sesame, crops cultivated in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern worlds for more than 10,000 years. The chickpea is high in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron and vitamin C. It also contains B complex and is rich in essential fatty acids. Since it’s higher in omega-6 than omega-3, it should not be consumed to excess.There are a few good reasons for making your own hummus, instead of simply tossing a plastic container into your shopping basket. One is that truly fresh hummus is a revelation. (If you take the time to pluck off the chickpea skins, you will enter into a whole other realm of fluffiness.) Another is that you can blend it according to your own palate, with more or less tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt. You can also add different spices—za’atar, vadouvan, pimetón or, my favorite, horseradish. You can roast the garlic if you prefer a smoother flavor. You can even incorporate almonds or walnuts if you like. Lastly, if you prepare it yourself, you can be sure that you are getting all the wonderful nutrients from the chickpeas. Here's an interesting excerpt from Nourishing Traditions about how to prepare beans and legumes:

“Traditional societies whose cuisines are based on legumes prepare them with great care. Beans are soaked for long periods before they are cooked—some varieties in acidic water and some in neutral or slightly alkaline water. The soaking water is poured off, the beans are rinsed and, in the case of chickpeas, the skins picked off. Sometimes water is replaced midway through the cooking process. Such care in preparation ensures that legumes will be thoroughly digestible and all the nutrients they provide well assimilated, because such careful preparation neutralizes phytic acid (which blocks the absorption of iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc) and enzyme inhibitors, and breaks down difficult-to-digest complex sugars. Always add lemon juice or the liquid from fermented vegetables to bean and lentil soups. As far as canned beans are concerned, high temperatures and pressures used in the canning process do reduce phytate content, but the danger is that such processing overdenatures proteins and other nutrients at the same time.”

With just a little advance planning, you'll be making word-class hummus. My recipe calls for reduced amounts of tahini and garlic, because I think those flavors can overpower the buttery taste of the chickpeas. On the other hand, I love the spicy kick from fresh horseradish; you could probably substitute the prepared kind from a jar, but if you can find a fresh root, I encourage you to give it a whirl. I grate it with my microplane zester and its slow burn and subtle sweetness are quite addictive. (Add it to mayonnaise, too; fantastic on a roast beef sandwich or a grilled burger.)