Zest the lemon and chop the zest fine. Squeeze the juice into a cup and add about 1 tbs of the lemon pulp to it.

Toast the cumin seeds in a hot, dry pan until they are fragrant, cool slightly then grind to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar/pestle. Set aside.

Peel and crush the garlic, or mince it finely.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas then place in work bowl of food processor. Add Tahini end EVOO then pulse 3-4 times to start breaking up the chickpeas. Add the garlic and pulse again several times. Add lemon juice then lemon zest and pulse again.

Add the cumin and cayenne. pulse to mix and taste for spiciness. Add salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice if needed. You should wind up with a coarse paste rather than something completely smooth.

Allow this mixture to rest and meld the flavors. Taste and adjust spices as desired. You want a tangy, spicy, nutty flavor without any one flavor being dominant.

Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Spread about 2 teaspoons of mixture on each slice. Garnish with parsley, cilantro, or other vegetable. I used finely cut carrot and brocolli on my version. Olive slices are also good on this.

Serve chilled on lettuce leaves if desired.

Each (app 6 slices) serving contains an estimated:

Cals: 95, FatCals: 45, TotFat: 5g

SatFat: 1g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 3g

Chol: 0mg, Na: 127mg, K: 227mg

TotCarbs: 11g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 0g

NetCarbs: 9g, Protein: 3g

Adapted from recipe in Parade magazine, Aug, 12, 2007