By request: Hummus Recipe

A couple folks have asked for my hummus recipe. Here's the recipe that I use, with my adjustments in italics:

“Holy Moly Hummus”
Derived from: Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer’s How It All Vegan, c1999.

Note from Maureen: This recipe serves an army (or one vegan who likes her snacks). You may want to cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic (more if you dare), minced
• Splash of olive oil
• 2 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (I use 2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed)
• ¾ cup tahini
• 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce (I use low sodium)
• ½ cup lemon juice (I usually get enough with two juicy lemons)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped (I use cilantro if it’s available, but some strange people don’t like cilantro)
• ¼ cup jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional) (I don’t added the jalapeno, but sometimes will add red pepper flakes if I’m just making it for myself)
• 1 tsp cumin (I use a heaping teaspoon)
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt (I use slightly less than a teaspoon, just seems like so much!)
• I also add at the end a generous sprinkling of paprika on the finished hummus. I use Penzey’s “Hungarian Half-Sharp Paprika” which also adds heat.

Instructions:
• In a small saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent. (Make sure you don’t burn your garlic… Yuk!)
• In a blender or food processor, blend the sautéed onion mixture with the remaining ingredients until you reach the desired consistency. (I use one of those stick / immersion hand-blenders instead of a food processor. I like my hummus chunky and this allows me to selectively blend the chickpeas and control the consistency.)
• Sprinkle with paprika.
• I serve with veggies, pita chips, or bagel chips.