Fat and Happy Hummus and Pita Chips

If you ever find yourself in Tucson, AZ, do yourself a favor and stop by the Fat Greek. While I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong with anything on their menu, my favorite thing is their hummus. I play a little game with myself before I go there. I convince myself that it can’t possibly be as good as I remember, and then I am corrected every time: it is even better. A perfect balance of earthy and savory, it comes out in a paper-lined basket, drizzled with olive oil and herbs along with toasty hot triangles of Greek bread. I generally end up sitting outside and watching passers by, burning my fingers a little on the still-steaming pita topped with cool, delicious hummus. Patience is a finite resource, and I wouldn’t waste it on something like this.

I once asked them to reveal their secret, and they told me garlic and oregano. Even with that knowledge, I couldn’t replicate that flavor until I stumbled on a small, but crucial, fact: “Greek oregano” is not the same thing as “oregano.” I haven’t the faintest clue what the difference is botanically speaking, but flavor-wise, don’t bother with “oregano” when attempting to make Mediterranean food, find the “Greek oregano”. It sounds obvious, but I can be a little slow sometimes.

Using my newfound knowledge, I began developing my own variation. What I’ve come up with is a little bit heavier, but rather good, if I do say so myself.

I generally start out with dried garbanzos, and then soak and boil them. It can be a bit of a pain, but I think they turn out much better (I will happily eat them with a spoon), and you can definitely make use of economies of scale. For instance, I boiled up two pounds of dried beans when I decided to make hummus. A few cups were used for hummus, and the rest are sitting in their broth in my fridge, waiting for further inspiration.

Hummus:
1 ½ c. garbanzo beans, boiled
2 cloves garlic, quartered
½ t. salt
1 ½ t. dried Greek oregano
Juice of ½ lemon
4 t. Tahini
1 T. olive oil
a few T. of garbanzo broth

Add the garbanzos, garlic, salt, oregano, Tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice to a food processer. Pulse bit to get things started, and then blend. Add the garbanzo broth leftover from cooking a little at a time to thin the mixture until you reach your desired consistency. Tweak the measures a little until you are thrilled with it. If it is a little too sharp, a bit more tahini will add earthiness, if it is a little to earthy, a little more lemon will punch it up. This game is all about balance.

And because hummus should not always be eaten directly off of a spoon (or finger, if I’m being honest), I’ve also thrown in some pita chips.

Pita Chips:
~4 small pitas (I use more of an arab style, i.e. with pockets, than a greek style, i.e., flat)
1 t. salt
1 t. Greek oregano
¼ t. garlic powder
Spray oil (like PAM)

Heat your oven to 300 degrees F. Cut your pitas into little triangles (I generally cut mine into sixths), and then split each triangle in half. Now all of your triangles will have a smooth side and a more textured side. Lay the bread triangles textured-side-up on a baking sheet and spray them with a bit of oil. Put all of your spices into a mortar and pestle (or if you are using a food processer, do this before making the hummus to avoid doing the dishes twice), and grind them into a fine powder. Sprinkle the spice powder across the oiled pitas and put them in the oven.

Now you need to keep yourself busy around the kitchen so that you don’t wander off and burn your pita chips. This is a good time to tidy up. Keep checking on the chips every couple of minutes. You can easily test how done they are by pushing down on one of the triangles (do mind the hot metal all around them). If it feels soft or squishy, they need more time. Once it firms up and becomes crispy, they are ready. If you want to brown them, leave them in a bit longer, and watch them like a hawk. Let them cool a little, and then serve.