Our Kitchenroundtable.net

Finely mince the garlic or use a garlic press. Mix it into the lemon juice and let sit about 10 minutes. This will tame the garlic so that it won't be so hot.

Put the pineapple and juice, garbanzo beans, tahini, salt, jalapeno and the lemon/garlic mixture in a food processor or high speed blender such as a Vitamix and blend.

Add up to 1/4 cup of the liquid from the beans (if needed) and blend into a creamy mixture, scraping down the sides occasionally, if necessary.

Place in a bowl. To garnish: Make concentric circle swirls with a butter knife. Drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle on the sesame seeds then dust with a little paprika.

Chill or serve immediately. Serve with pita, flat bread, bagel chips or your choice of firm fresh vegetable slices.

Makes about 3 cups.

Notes:
The hummus will be smoother and creamier if you will do two extra steps: (1) Slip off and discard the skins from the garbanzo beans and (2) further cook the beans about 30 minutes or so in their liquid in a saucepan before making the recipe. And it seems the beans blend better while they are still hot/warm.

You can also cook dried garbanzo beans for a better taste instead of using canned. Soak in ample water overnight, then drain and liberally cover with water again to cook. When they seem to be done, slip the skins off, then cook longer until they are very soft. Dried beans are also much cheaper than canned.

This recipe was originally intended for a serrano pepper, but we don't care for that much heat. cathyntx