Oh hummus how I love you so/

So many foods with which you go/

So many ways to make you mine/

At this moment I see nine.

Clockwise from top: Carrot, black sesame seed, broccoli, black garbanzo bean, pumpkin, spinach, black bean, plain, tomato.

Basic Hummus Recipe

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained, with 1/4 cup liquid reserved

2 T tahini (sesame paste)

Juice of 2 lemons

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Place garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add liquid from garbanzo beans as necessary to achieve smooth and creamy consistency. Season as desired with salt and pepper; using canned beans it should not take much salt.

Note: To use dried beans, begin with 2 cups dried garbanzo beans. Soak for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse, then cover with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 hour, or until beans are tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. In a food processor or blender, blend the beans with the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. Add liquid as necessary until the hummus reaches a smooth, creamy consistency. Add 1 tsp. salt, or more to taste.

Hummus Variations:

Carrot: Steam 1 medium-sized carrot until it is tender; add to blender with other ingredients.

Black Sesame Seed: Add 1 heaping tablespoonful of black sesame seeds to completed hummus, stir to combine.

Broccoli: Steam 1 cup broccoli until very tender; add to blender with other ingredients.

Black Garbanzo Bean: Follow the directions for basic hummus, using the instructions for dried beans, with dried black garbanzo beans.

Pumpkin: Add 1/2 cup cooked and pureed pumpkin to the blender with other ingredients.

Spinach: Add 1 cup cooked fresh spinach to the blender with other ingredients.

Black Bean: Follow the directions for basic hummus using either the canned or dried bean variations.

Tomato: Core and chop 1 medium red tomato; add to blender with other ingredients. Note: You will need much less liquid because the tomato tends to be watery, so hold off on adding any additional liquid until you test the consistency.

Like these? We’ve got a million of ‘em. But you should know that for every tried and true variation, we’ve had a few flops. Red grape hummus = kind of gross. Red wine hummus (“drunken” hummus) = not as good as you’d think, plus the color was very strange. But there’s no harm in trying – and for what it’s worth, just about every vegetable we’ve tried to add has made for some mighty delicious hummus. What’s your favorite?