The great Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero whose treatise De Republica I struggled with in High School Latin, was born on this day in 106 BC. According to Plutarch, Cicero got his surname from “cicer,” the Latin name for the chickpea. The name came from one of his ancestors who had a “faint dent in the end of his nose like the cleft of a chickpea.” (I wish I was clever enough to make this up.)
Chickpeas … garlic … hmmm … okay, here’s a delicious recipe for hummus with an entire head of roasted garlic. Bonum appetitionem!
Roasted Garlic Hummus
2 c. canned chickpeas
2 T. tahini
4 T. olive oil
1/4 c. warm water
1 large head of garlic
1 lemon, juice of
1/4 t. sea salt
Preheat oven to 375°F Cut off the very top of the head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap securely in tin foil. Roast garlic in oven for 1 hour. Remove and allow to cool.
Squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of each clove into food processor. Rinse and drain cooked or canned chickpeas. Add chickpeas and other ingredients and blend until completely smooth.
Turn into a bowl, drizzle hummus with olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar (a Middle eastern blend of dried herbs, sesame seeds, and salt), parsley, or paprika.
Serve at room temperature with crudites, warm pita or crackers.
garlicescapes 