Hummus - How or what do you serve or eat with it?

[vintagechef]

I have only eat'n hummus a few times in my life that I know of. I have only seen it eat'n with chips as a dip, or a spread for a bread, or as a base ingredient in a soup that bread is dipped into. How many ways are there to eat it? What do others use it for? Fishing for some ideas as I am currently experimenting with it because it uses so many of my favorite ingredients and flavors.

[Querencia]

Hummos and baba ganooj are dip and spread but I love them in salad---a big blop of either on top of lettuce and tomato with olive oil and vinegar and maybe a few Kalamata olives on the side.

[mamaciita]

One of my favorite restaurant salads starts with a thin layer of hummus in the bowl, topped with romaine, red onion, tomatoes, olives, feta, cucumbers, etc. I think there was a viniagrette with it. . .the bit of hummus with each bite made it unforgettable.

[ErnieD]

I totally agree with everything that's been said-you can dip any raw and\or steamed veggies into hummus and it will be very good. But it's also good to spread on meats or anything that didn't turn out quite right. Like overcooked steak. Not that anyone I know would do such a thing (cough) but if they did, a spread of hummus on the meat itself or in a sandwich will give some moisture and flavor to meat that might have gotten a bit dry. Even better if added with a bit of Greek yogurt with fresh mint and pasted garlic.

[vintagechef]

Thank you all for the ideas. I made some today to serve with our fathers day feast. I ended up flavoring with steamed asparagas, fresh garlic cloves, some lemon zest and fresh celantro. I made it thick and creamy to use in place of butter on some home made hearth bread. The older crowd really liked it and did not miss the margarin or butter at all. Looking forward to trying some of the ideas you all have offered.

[flashria]

IMHO the best use for hummus is a recipe of Nigella Lawson's which is flash-fried lamb pieces with lemon juice on a bed of hummus with toasted pine nuts, served with pitta bread. Sorry, I haven't discovered how to do links yet but it's in her 'How to Eat' book. Yum yum.

[onceadaylily]

I love using it on a bagel, instead of cream cheese, usually with Valentina's hot sauce, and tomatoes. If I'm out of bagels, I've been known to put the hummus, tomatoes and hot sauce in a bowl, and eat it with a spoon for a quick breakfast or lunch. It's nice in quesadills as well. Once I made a hot dip out of it, mixing it with creamed spinch, cheese, and breadcrumbs; I baked it and served it with toasted pita.

[vstock]

We sometimes mix it will basil pesto for a little bit of zing..and on occassion a bit of red pepper flakes. If we are out of pita or pita chips, I will grill tortillas and eat it with hummus. We make our own Hummus almost every other week. It is easy and very tasty. Instead of adding all the oil that the recipe calls for, I drain the garbonzo beans and save the "juice" since it acts as a natural thickener. I add a bit back to the hummus mixture and then add only 1/3 of the oil. The result is a very smooth and tasty dip - which I feel less guilty eating without all the oil. (And did I mention cheap?!?)

[mcf]

I spread it on a plate, drizzle with EVOO and serve it with a border of overlapping rings of cucumber slices. We also eat it as a side dish with some summer meals instead of as a dip.

[Val]

I love hummus on cucumber slices, too, in fact, it's great on anything green, especially fresh parsley..have also schmeared it on romaine for a really quick nosh.

[al b. darned]

I love it with Triscuits. My favorite is Tribe 40 Spices.

[Cookiefiend]

With Rye Triscuits - omg

[mamaciita]

Do not make this if dish licking offends you.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/appetizers-...

[5busyrussells]

So far I've made plain, roasted red pepper and now kalamata olive - the kalamata olive is my personal favorite, but we eat it with homemade pita bread or wasa crackers but we also now have substituted it where we used mayo on sandwiches (healthier). The roasted red pepper hummus is fabulous on a portabello mushroom sandwich with some wilted spinach, some mozzarella cheese and a slice of tomato. YUM!

[Babyducks]

Wow, you've made me hungry, that sounds delish!

[BamiaWruz]

Spread on a plate, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with sumac and lemon juice, decorated with olives (optional) and dipped with warm soft pita bread or any flat bread available.

[JungMann]

In a bowl with olive oil, lemon juice and paprika to eat with pita
Mixed into tuna salad
As a bed with tahini and or garlic sauce for kebabs
As a sandwich spread with BLT and sprouts
I'm wondering if there might be a way to get it into the center of a kibbeh for an interesting texture

[MGZ]

I will use it to make, for lack of a better name, veggie sandwiches. The hummus acts as both the protein and the condiment. It works with any bread, wrap, pita, naan, etc. With the addition of sliced vegetables (tomato, cucumber, spinach, red peppers, jalepenos, . . . you get the idea) it 's a nice, tasty, pretty light though balanced, lunch.

[CreativeFoodie42]

I generally eat it as a spread in a veggie or falafel sandwich, or as a dip with veggies or pita chips. i recently discovered falafel chips and I am definitely going to give that a try with some hummus!

[TongoRad]

I always get some on my sandwich when I go to a schwarma joint, so I'd say that in general it goes well with grilled meats if you can come up with another way to do it.

Edit: silly me, I just remembered another preparation I've had in that manner- line a bowl with hummous, maybe 1/2" thick, and place your grilled meat in the center (in my case I've had it done with a Jerusalem Mixed Grill, chicken livers heavily spiced with baharat and cooked with onions and mushrooms).

[mpjmph]

I usually go for the standard dip or sandwich spread approach. Sometimes I will use hummus on a salad instead of dressing.

[Eric in NJ]

We serve with Stacey's Pita chips.

[melpy]

Yum!

[NE_Elaine]

I generally serve it on a platter with triangles of pita bread and raw veggies. It makes a nice lite lunch.

[Sean]

Everything from crackers, Melba Toast to grilled chicken and pretzels...