Make Julie Farias' Homemade Hummus, Available at The General Greene Grocery

Vegetable Hummus Sandwich at The General Greene

Fort Greene's The General Greene restaurant is now home to the General Greene Grocery, a retail area operating out of an empty nook at the back of the house that formerly housed staffers' bikes. The Grocery specializes in homemade items by owner-pastry chef Nicholas Morgenstern and executive chef Julie Farias, such as a ham and gruyere bread pudding, housemade granola, and baby food. Farias shares her recipe for the house hummus, which you can find in General Greene's Vegetable Hummus Sandwich or in the shop for $3.49 per eight-ounce container.

"[The sandwich] is two slices of seven grain bread. We spread the hummus lightly on one side and heavily on the other, then add fresh julienned carrots, sliced English cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, avocado," says the chef. "The hummus has a tangy freshness to it because of the sumac, which is a berry that is ground and has a tart-sour flavor and is purple red in color. It stains the hummus a beautiful red. The orange and lemon zest gives the hummus a freshness and spark."

General Greene Grocery Hummus

Yield: 1 quart

2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained
4 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 tbsp tahini
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
2 orange zests
2 lemon zests
1 tbsp salt
cracked black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp sumac

Combine all the ingredients in a blender on pulse until smooth. If it's too thick, add a bit more olive oil.