Recently, a whole column was devoted by Food & Wine online to hummus. I found some recipes I wanted to try and then pass on to my readers. Hummus is a great year-round legume appetizer and very healthy, too—low in fat and calories, high in protein and fiber.

My Made-From-Scratch Hummus

• 3½ cups
• 1 cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 2 t. salt
• 2 mashed garlic cloves
• 3 T. olive oil
• ½ cup tahini
• Dash chili powder
• 1 T. olive oil
• Fresh chopped parsley
• Olives
• Paprika

Place beans in a saucepan, cover with water, soak overnight.

Drain, rinse, cover with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1½ hours. Drain.

Place in a blender. Add garlic, oil, tahini and chili powder. Puree.

Spread in a shallow dish. Drizzle 1 T. oil on top.n Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, olives and paprika.

Roasted Tomato-Basil Hummus

4 servings

This comes from Food & Wine online.

• 3 large, quartered Roma tomatoes
• ½ cup plus 1 t. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves
• ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1½ cups canned, rinsed and drained chickpeas
• 2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet with 1 t. olive oil. Season with salt. Roast for 25 minutes.

Combine roasted tomatoes, garlic, and ¼ cup basil in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add chickpeas, ½ cup olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and process until combined and smooth. Transfer to a serving dish.

Stack basil leaves and cut in long, thin strips.

Garnish with basil, drizzle with olive oil. Serve with warm pita or over flatbread.

Marinated Artichoke Hummus

2 cups

This comes from Food & Wine online.

• 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 (12-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, reserving liquid
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, artichoke hearts and 2 T. artichoke marinating liquid.

Process 1 minute and a half. With processor running, slowly pour oil through the food chute for 20 seconds.

Scrape mixture into a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil.

Serve with pita chips or crudités.

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, author, compiler/editor of nine kosher cookbooks and food writer for North American Jewish publications, who lives in Jerusalem where she leads walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English.