Orange Hummus

Sunday night's dinner included a nice little side dish with a bit of story behind it.  The story's pretty simple... I love hummus, whereas Juli had long been at best lukewarm to it until a few months ago, when I came up with a hummus recipe that changed her mind.  Since then she's asked a couple times when I was going to make "some more of that yummy hummus."  Since I was planning a Mediterranean-style meal for the weekend, it seemed a natural to include, so I finally made another batch. 

Essentially, it's a basic hummus, but with a bit of orange marmalade included in the mix to give the hummus a bit of orange flavor.   It's quick and easy to make, it makes a great dip for pita, potato chips, cut fresh veggies, crackers or what have you, and it saves pretty well, staying good for a week or so assuming you keep it covered and in the fridge when you aren't snacking on it.   One batch of the recipe makes a fair bit of hummus.  Last night we used it as a dip for pieces of the pita bread, and we have plenty left over for use as a snack dip for the next week.

My recipe is based on one I found at Allrecipes.com.   That recipe, which is attributed only to Smucker's, can be seen here:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Hummus/Detail.aspx.   An initial version of my revision of that recipe can be found on the same page (my Allrecipes member name is JeffreyK).   Since then, I've revised my recipe a bit further.  The current version - and the one I made for Sunday - is detailed below. 

Orange Hummus

yield = approx 2 1/2 cups of hummus

2       cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/4    cup tahini
3       tablespoons orange marmalade
3       tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2       teaspoons lemon juice
1       teaspoon minced garlic
1/4    teaspoon paprika
1/8    teaspoon ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until all ingredients are pureed and blended smooth.

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, or preferably overnight, to let the flavors blend.

Remove from the refrigerator 15-30 minutes before serving (this step isn't absolutely necessary, but the hummus does taste a bit better closer to room temperature).