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Strolling through the Hollister Downtown Association’s Farmers Market on a Wednesday, it is difficult not to have your eyes drawn to the colorful array of Middle Eastern delights on display at Oman Hussein’s Hummus Heaven tent.
While not from San Benito County, Hussein has been bringing hummus, yogurt, marinated veggies, couscous and other traditional dishes to the Downtown Farmers Market for a dozen years now. The quality of his products alone should confer some honorary citizenship.
“People come to this farmers market,” he said, “to experience things, to talk to their growers, try new producers, and hang out with their families and the community. It’s always a positive experience to be here, you know what I mean?”
Hussein’s hummus comes from a traditional Tunisian recipe brought over by brothers Mourad and Tarek Cherif, who began selling their products at farmers markets over 20 years ago.
The ingredients to the basic hummus, from which all the variations spring, are traditional, simple and fresh: chickpeas (AKA garbanzos), tahini (made with ground sesame seeds and oil), lemon juice, olive oil, salt and garlic, which are blended together into a creamy consistency.
Like tofu, it is a chameleon food, with subtle flavors that can stay in the background when blended with more intensely flavored ingredients. For the uninitiated, the original basic hummus is what Hussein offers to customers as a starting point for tasting, recommending it for use on sandwiches as a healthier alternative to mayonnaise.
Well, healthy enough for the Mayo Clinic to include it, in moderation, on a long list of its nutrition plans, including Healthy-carb, Weight management, Low-fat, Diabetes Meal, DASH Diet, Heart-healthy, Kidney diet and Low-sodium.
“It’s a high-fiber protein,” Hussein said. “Chickpeas are one of the healthiest beans available. Our hummus and all of our dips are gluten-free. Completely gluten-free. And almost all of them are also vegan.”
Hussein admits he really did not care for hummus until he first tried the Cherif brothers’ version at their farmers market stall 17 years ago.
“They just have a knack for making great dip,” he said. “Every one of their flavors is completely different. People ask me a lot, ‘Oh, what’s your favorite flavor?’ And I have to admit, every week or two, my favorite changes.”
At that point, Hummus Heaven was primarily serving farmers markets in San Jose, Daly City and Los Gatos, and as one of their first employees, Hussein said he witnessed the company’s constant growth.
“When I started,” he said, “we were doing close to 15 flavors of hummus. And now we’re doing well over 40 flavors of hummus, nine varieties of garlic spreads, and 14 flavors of Greek labne in over 100 farmers markets a week.”
Providing a wide range of samples to passersby is the company’s most potent marketing tool, according to Hussein, encouraging his staff not to be shy about approaching people to introduce them to the product.
“We want to give them an experience that they won’t forget,” he said. “Whether they buy or not, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is to have them come try our products, and I am sure there is something they will like.”
After sampling the original hummus, Hussein usually switches to one of the artichoke versions, from plain to spinach artichoke and artichoke jalapeno, which are consistent best-sellers. From there, he gauges suggestions by customer responses.
“I’ll just kind of take them on a tour by color and by taste,” he said, “like spicy, not spicy. Half of our hummus is spicy, so I try to start with the mildest spicy and work my way up. But many people just come, and they choose their own path.”
It is a twisting path with many great side roads to explore. Staying with hummus for the moment, there is the chipotle black bean hummus, a big seller locally with a distinct Mexican herbal spiciness that makes it a perfect addition to a burrito. The Thai coconut hummus is another standout, delicately spiced and complex.
Hussein, who was recently voted the Best Farmers Market Vendor by the readers of the Monterey County Weekly, counts the bright scarlet beetroot hummus, the kale and almond hummus, and the spinach jalapeno feta hummus as personal favorites.
Turning away from the chickpea-based products, the garlic spreads are a very accessible mix of raw garlic, oil and lemon juice, blended with different vegetable purees. One of the jewels is the tomato and basil garlic spread, made with garlic, tomato paste and fresh basil with all the bursting flavor of a margarita pizza.
Some of the more interesting products are the combo dips, which bring together harmonizing selections of hummus and spreads. The spice level gets notched up with the Garlic Basil Flare combo dip, which adds chipotle and serrano peppers as well as sun-dried tomatoes, or the SunFire Serrano Garlic combo, which swaps out chipotle for turmeric, giving it a distinct Indian feel.
The strained Greek yogurts, or labne, are a perfect way to cool things down a bit. With the thick consistency of melted ice cream, they are made without added sugars. There are fruit-heavy versions, including the concentrated mango flavor and the cloud-like coconut, both of which would be beautiful as toppings for granola, pancakes or French toast.
The Tzatziki version of the yogurt goes in the other direction, moving from sweet to a more savory approach with the addition of dill and cucumber, which gives it a strong sour cream flavor.
There is also an intriguing line of side dishes, including five-bean, beet and artichoke salads with marinated vegetables, spicy and kalamata olives, stuffed grape leaves and a couscous salad, a favorite of regular customer Veronica Stork.
For her, it is a quick dinner option after a long day at the office. She said she always has it in her refrigerator, warming it up with some veggies and butter or vinegar.
“I’ll always be sure to come to this stand,” she said, “I can’t choose a favorite. Every day is different; one day I’ll crave one of the items, and the next, something else. Everything is so great, and I love what Hussein has.”
That is the kind of response that Hussein is looking for. He said his favorite part of the job remains the kinds of connections he makes with the community, the regular clients who come by to stock their fridges as soon as he sets up his stand.
“It’s rewarding to see a smile on somebody’s face,” Hussein said. “I’m proof that somebody who doesn’t like hummus might like hummus if they try the right one.”
Hummus Heaven can be found Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on San Benito Street during the Hollister Downtown Association Farmers Market. A menu of available items is available on Facebook.
Hummus Heaven can also be found:
- Tuesdays: Alvarado Street Farmers Market in Monterey from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m..
- Thursdays: Carmel-by-the-Sea Farmers Market on Ocean Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Saturdays: Salinas Farmers Market on Main Street in Oldtown from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sundays: Carmel Valley Farmers Market on Carmel Valley Road from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and for giving our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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