Yesterday, for some reason, I had the hungries for hummus. I knew I had everything I needed so I dug out the garbanza beans, lemons, olive oil, garlic, salt . . wait . . I had no tahini paste. I’m not one to run to the store for one or two things so I scrapped the idea of making hummus but I didn’t stop thinking about it. I was glad when Vince called and said I needed to pick him up because he was putting his car back in the shop. Yay! I can run by the grocery store while in town.
The last time I needed hummus, I ordered several jars from Amazon but then I noticed that Kroger had it so we went there. Nope, ho tahini paste. Doesn’t seem like too long ago that our Kroger had a new manager. He came here from the Metroplex and I wondered how long he would stay in our little town. Not long! Vince went to the service desk to see if they had maybe moved the tahini and the new manager, who has been an assistant manager for a while, came over to help us. He’s a nice guy and I like him so, congratulations to the new Kroger manager.
From there, we went to United. No tahini paste there either. It was about that time that I thought . . why do we live in this place? And then I remembered I’m happy to be in a small town; no place has everything and the more “stuff” there is available, the more traffic and other problems there are.
Then, I happened to think about our wonderful little health food store, Honey Bee. They have *everything* and I sometimes forget about them. The ladies are always so nice in there, so we ran over there and yep, tahini paste . . made from the whole seeds so that’s better than what I would probably have found in the grocery stores anyway.
Tahini Paste
This afternoon, hummus will be made!
Debra says
When I have no tahini paste, I just add some sesame seeds to the mixture while blending. Same flavor and I am more likely to have sesame seeds in my pantry.
JudyL says
I rarely keep sesame seeds on hand. I don’t use them much and they seem to go rancid pretty quickly around here.
Tee says
When I make hummus and don’t have tahini, I just use a bit of greek yogurt to thin it out. We don’t seem to notice the taste difference.
Also, to make really creamy hummus from chick peas, take the skins off. It takes a bit of time, but easy to do. You will for sure notice the difference!
JudyL says
I’m not sure about the yogurt instead of tahini but thanks for the tip. I cook the dry peas in the pressure cooker and they come out so tender and quite different from using canned chick peas. I can tell you . . if I had to remove the skins, I would not be making hummus! I use 1 pound of dry beans which is probably equal to 5 or 6 cans of peas . . that would take forever and I don’t notice the skins not being tender after cooking in the pressure cooker. In fact, I’m wondering if with them being dried if the skin is even still on them because I never see them. I’ll have to pay more attention next time.
Tee says
I haven’t made them in the Instant Pot yet. I will try to do it soon and see if there is a difference, skins on or skins off. I just love them with the skins off.
Beryl Redfield says
Judy, I make my own tahini. Take two cups sesame seeds and lightly toast, being careful not to burn. When cool add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and blend in food processor or blender. Keep refrigerated . You can also use peanut butter in place of tahini!
obed101 says
Funny, I just made hummus Sunday, finished it up today for lunch. And ran out of tahini, so I bought it today as well!
The Eclectic Abuela says
Now I want hummus! 🙂
Teri says
Can you share your recipe please?
patty says
I am surprised you don’t make your own tahini paste. It is so easy to do. I also like making hummus with black beans. A bit of olive oil, garlic, cilantro, salt, cumin, and yum! I buy Goya black beans and drain off the liquid into a cup. If the hummus is too thick I will add a bit of the liquid.
JudyL says
I do sometimes make my own but around here, I can’t buy good sesame seeds in bulk. Walmart has 4 oz. bags of them but they never seem very fresh. I would have to order the sesame seeds so it’s actually easier to buy the tahini paste already made and the extra jar will last much longer in my pantry than would sesame seeds.