EZ Restaurant-Style Hummus

1. Place garbanzo beans, 1 1/2 tablespoon reserved aquafaba, and lemon juice in a food processor. Let soak until flavors combine, about 15 minutes.

2. Pulse soaked garbanzo beans until roughly chopped. Add tahini, olive oil, garlic, cayenne, sugar, salt, and black pepper; blend, thinning with reserved aquafaba, until hummus is smooth and reaches desired consistency.

Cook's Notes:

Though most popular as an appetizer to be eaten with pita, hummus also works great on sandwiches and wraps, particularly on lavash (soft, cracker-like bread) bread, available at Middle Eastern grocery stores.

For Kalamata olive hummus: Blend together desired amount of olives and 1/2 teaspoon olive juice per cup of hummus. Stir into hummus. Be cautious as you add olive juice; the brine is very salty. This variation is always a big hit, sometimes more so than the original version.

For creamy, Persian-style hummus: Add slightly more chickpea liquid and plain yogurt as you blend.

Lemon hummus: Add extra lemon juice to your hummus to give it that extra "zing".