Creamy Hummus

Ingredients

Prep

• Lemons - juice the lemons to yield 1/3 cup juice — knife confidence is fun, keeping all ten fingers is even better.
• Garlic - finely grate on microplane to yield 1 tbl
• Chickpeas - rinse and drain
• Almonds - roughly chop to yield 1/4 cup

Instructions

Combine the chickpeas, baking powder, and 6 cups of water in a large saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover, lower the heat, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, combine 1/3 cup of lemon juice and the 1 tbl of grated garlic in a small bowl and set aside. Drain the water and any chickpea skins that have floated to the surface, leaving the chickpeas in the pan. Add cold water to cover, stir vigorously to loosen more skins, and again - drain the water and skins that float to the top. Repeat 5 or 6 more times until most of the skins are removed. Drain the chickpeas and place in a bowl of a food processor (or blender), setting aside 2 tbl of whole chickpeas for garnish. Add the lemon and garlic mixture, a dash of hot sauce (to taste), 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 cup warm water, 1 tbl kosher salt and 1 tsp pepper. Process or blend until very smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add 1/2 cup tahini and 2 tbl of olive oil and puree for one full minute, until creamy. With a rubber spatula, spread the hummus on a large flat serving plate or shallow bowl, leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle with the reserved chickpeas and almonds, while resisting the deeply human urge to fuss with it nonstop. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with paprika and serve with toasted or room temperature pita bread, and if it looks a little ugly, who gives a shit, keep moving.