THE BEST, THE VERY BEST HUMMUS

Posted in Appetizers, Vegetarian-friendly by

We eat hummus all the time. Almost always store-bought, because we actually like the two brands available in our neck of the woods: Sabra and Athenos. Sometimes I refresh it with a little lemon juice, olive oil, some cumin or paprika, but sometimes we just dig in, straight from the container. I have quite a few hummus-like recipes in the blog, departures from the classic, using avocado, edamame, even pumpkin. Oddly enough, I never posted the classic, chickpea-tahini entity. Until now, that is. The recipe I tried this past weekend was a revelation, and I am still kicking myself for taking such a long time to try it, when bloggers and cookbook authors have been raving about it for ages. This is the way hummus is prepared in the Middle East. The prominent flavor is exactly what is intended to be: chickpeas and tahini. No distractions. The texture, unbeatable. Absolutely nothing to do with the grocery store variety. This might just spoil you forever.  I adapted the recipe from a few sources, including Ottolenghi, to make a version that has a little bit less tahini and more lemony. Play with it, but don’t mess with the cooking of the chickpeas.

hummus
THE VERY BEST HUMMUS
(adapted from several sources)

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup tahini (best quality you can find)
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup cold water
red pepper flakes (optional)
cumin or paprika for decoration (optional)

The night before making the hummus, cover the chickpeas with enough water to cover by 2 inches and soak them for 12 hours. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place them in a large saucepan with the baking soda. Cover them a couple of  inches of water and bring the water to a boil. Simmer for an hour or until very tender. Drain the beans, let them cool slightly and add to a powerful mixer (Vitamix is available). If you don’t have a Vitamix, use a food processor.

Add the lemon juice, tahini, salt, and blend until very smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the water and continue to blend for a few more minutes. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. Add the red pepper flakes, if using, and mix gently. Transfer to a serving dish, top with a drizzle of olive oil, maybe some cumin or paprika sprinkled on top. If you like, a little bit of fresh lemon juice brightens up the flavors.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: When Phil tried the first bite of Ak-Mak cracker with this creamy hummus spread on it, he was silent for a few seconds, then told me it was the best hummus he’s ever had. Followed by… you know you’ll have to make this all the time now, right? I have to agree, the texture is three logs of magnitude better than any hummus you can buy or make by simply opening a can of chickpeas. I guarantee you it is worth the time you’ll have to wait for the beans to get tender. Just go for it, do it on a Saturday morning, while you sip your coffee, your tea, while you read the newspaper. Just remember to soak the beans the evening before. That is all.  You will notice there is no garlic in my version. It is listed as optional by some, mandatory by others. I am very partial to the pure flavor of chickpeas and tahini and find that garlic would throw this delicate balance off. You should do what your taste buds tell you to…  Olive oil? Only drizzled on top at the time you serve it. In the hummus itself, water is the best emulsifier. Just think about it, tahini is extremely oily, adding more oil to the dip makes no sense.   It is soooo creamy, I tried to capture the texture on my first photo, it has the feeling of a luscious mousse. Everyone was mesmerized by its looks. Everyone.

bogeyhummus


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25 thoughts on “THE BEST, THE VERY BEST HUMMUS”

  1. I’m with Bogey – we could polish that off together. I serve my hummus with a drizzle of olive oil, a slight shake of paprika and half a handful of dukkah sprinkled on top. I can’t wait to try your recipe. I always use less tahini as I find it too strong for me.

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  4. Bogey – if you can call ‘her’ ‘Mom’ – nothing, absolutely nothing else counts – and I think you DO!!! Oh, I’ll try and ‘make your day’ recipe also . . . love hommus . . or however one chooses to spell the ‘stuff’!!

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  6. Oh boy, it looks fantastic Sally! Creamy and luscious. I know what you mean about being spoiled with a homemade version… I just recently broke down and bought a food processor (what can I say, I’m old school) and the first thing I made was classic hummus. It was delicious but it did not call for baking soda and I think the soda method is what allows you to skip the whole shelling process (which is a bit of a pain in the took :d) – I was reading about how the skin falls away during the cooking process and is easily rinsed off when using the soda — gotta try it! ps (love the snap of Bogey and I’d be right there with him keeping my eyes on the prize).

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  8. I’ve tried to make it several times with cooked from scratch chickpeas but never could get it smooth enough. Canned chickpeas, drained, skinned and pureed made the best, creamiest etc … I’m a purist. Maybe a bit of paprika for colour and a drizzle of olive oil.

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