Celebrate the food processor by making a nice bowl of hummus

Hummus is a perfect example— this creamy spread is made with pureed chickpeas, tahini (which is like peanut butter but is made from sesame seeds), lemon juice, and spices. (File photo: jypsygen/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

When the food processor was introduced in the 1970s, it suddenly made difficult or time-consuming recipes so much easier. The fast blades combine ingredients in just seconds.

Hummus is a perfect example— this creamy spread is made with pureed chickpeas, tahini (which is like peanut butter but is made from sesame seeds), lemon juice, and spices. Before the food processor, you had to beat these ingredients by hand. It was tough work turning chickpeas (a member of the bean family) into a smooth puree. The food processor makes hummus, and many other recipes, much easier and faster to prepare. Talk about a tasty invention.

Use baby carrots, slices of cucumber, whole cherry tomatoes, crackers or pita chips. Follow this recipe with your kids.

HUMMUS

Servings 6 (Makes about 1 1/2 cups)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Prepare Ingredients:

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice, squeezed from 1 lemon

2 tablespoons tahini (stirred well before measuring)

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Gather Cooking Equipment:

Liquid measuring cup

Spoon

Colander

Can opener

Food processor

Rubber spatula

Small bowl

Start Cooking:

In liquid measuring cup, stir together water, lemon juice, tahini, and oil.

Set colander in sink. Open can of chickpeas and pour into colander. Rinse chickpeas with cold water and shake colander to drain well.

Transfer chickpeas to food processor. Add garlic, salt, and cumin to food processor and lock lid into place. Process mixture for 10 seconds.

Stop food processor, remove lid, and scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Lock lid back into place and process until mixture is coarsely ground, about 5 seconds.

With processor running, slowly pour water mixture through feed tube until mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.

Stop food processor. Carefully remove food processor blade (ask an adult for help). Transfer hummus to small bowl. Serve. (Leftover hummus can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Before serving, stir in 1 tablespoon warm water to loosen hummus.

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The Dipping Life

Don’t have a can of chickpeas in the pantry? You can turn plain yogurt, preferably thicker Greek- style yogurt, into a super-fast dip. (Whatever you do, no raspberry yogurt, please!

) Here are some ideas to get you started, but feel free to add flavours as you like.

— Greek Yogurt Dip: In small bowl, stir together 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, and pinch salt.

— Tahni-Lemon Yogurt Dip: In small bowl, stir together 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons tahini, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon honey, and pinch salt.

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Nutrition information per serving: 132 calories; 77 calories from fat; 9 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 300 mg sodium; 11 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 4 g protein.

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For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes in “Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs .”

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America’s Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press.