Hummus bi Tahini

Anissa Helou, like any Lebanese, has a special attachment to chickpeas. They are an indigenous vegetable all over the Mediterranean. We know this because early Greek poetry refers to them, and they are the essential ingredient in the most fundamental food of the Levant, the tahini-flavored puree known throughout the world as hummus.

Chickpeas start out looking a bit like garden-variety peas. As