This is one of mine and the fam’s most favorite snack on the weekends. We will often forgo a busier lunch and happily break open some store-bought hummus. I bake us some Parmesan Herb Pita chips and the feast is on. Admittedly, kidlet won’t eat the hummus, but she loves my pita chips. Baby steps (pun intended - even though she’s 7 now), right? I serve it all up on a big platter and we take it outside to enjoy perfect, sunny weather.

You’ll have noticed that I said store-bought hummus. I admit it, I do this, this buying of pre-prepped foods. The stuff I get from my grocery deli area is divine, so it can’t be helped! But I’d always wanted to make some scratch, so here we are folks. We are so daring! Us for making it at Full Fork and you for witnessing.

Yeah, right, this stuff is so easy!

Hello, canned chickpeas! We are here today to pulverize you into a dip fit for human consumption and drool-worthy pita chips. No, don’t cry! Eh…moving on.

The recipe says to use a blender but mine isn’t a very good one. Shocking, isn’t it? I still don’t know why I haven’t bought a more top-of-the-line one, I certainly cook enough to justify it. So we used a food processor instead, though I’m not sure it got it as smooth as a blender would.

Behold! The Hummus That Could Probably Be Smoother But Is Nonetheless Tasty!

OK, so the hummus is done. It’s time to get to rummaging up some of our very own pita chips. The most tedious part is brushing each chip with olive oil.

To alleviate some of that tediousness, this time I cut each pita bread in half, split open each half and then brushed with olive oil. It’s not hard to brush individually cut pieces with oil, but this alternate way definitely takes less time. WINNING.

From there it’s a snap to season the chips. I use a light touch of garlic salt, then Italian seasoning and finish it off with a little Parmesan.

You can use either freshly grated or the already grated kind in those plastic dispensers. Depends on what you have on hand and time for.

They only need a couple of minutes under a hot broiler and you have quick, wonderfully tasty pita chips. We love these so much better than the harder store-bought variety. These will get nice and crunchy on the outer edges but stay a tad bit softer in the middle.

We usually just enjoy the hummus and pita chips alone, but some great things to have along with it are some crumbled feta, little halves of grape or cherry tomatoes and some olives. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

This is perfect for a party as well as a casual snack or lunch with the family. Hope you enjoy!

Hummus with Parmesan Herb Pita Chips

Hummus dip from Dave Lieberman via Food Network (pita chips are our own)

For the Hummus:

• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 12 to 15 grinds black pepper
• 1/4 cup water
• Paprika, for garnish

In a blender combine all the ingredients except the parsley and paprika to be used for garnish. Blend on low speed until smooth. You’ll have to stop the blender often to push down the ingredients. If the mixture is too dry and you’re having trouble blending it, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil to help things along.

Scrape the hummus onto a plate. Sprinkle the paprika over the top, drizzle lightly with olive oil, scatter some parsley on top, and serve. You can make the hummus up to a couple of hours before you serve it. Cover the top with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

For the Pita Chips:

2-3 pita breads

About 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

garlic salt, to taste

Italian seasoning, to taste

About 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven’s broiler, moving the rack about 6-8 inches from the heat source.

With a sharp knife, carefully cut each pita in half, then split open each half. Using a pastry brush, brush a little olive oil on the inside of each piece. Stack several of the pieces atop one another and cut them into individual wedges. Lay the wedges out on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with the garlic salt, Italian seasoning and a small sprinkle of the Parmesan cheese.

Broil the wedges for a couple of minutes, keeping a close eye on them to prevent burning. Turn the baking sheet every so often as necessary to help even browning. When the chips are toasted to suit, remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Notes:

I will probably still buy hummus at the store for times I need a quicker fix, but in truth this dip takes only about ten minutes to make. It couldn’t be any easier. The only real drawback is if your dishwasher is too full to put the blender or food processor equipment in instead of you doing to cleanup by hand. I think I’d be willing to risk that again for homemade.

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