If you are a hummus fan, it’s always good to have a go-to recipe so you can make this delicious spread or dip at home.
A popular Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dish traditionally made from chickpeas (also known as Garbanzo beans) and tahini (which is a paste made from roasted ground sesame), you’ll also need garlic, cumin and fresh lemon juice to make homemade hummus.
If you have dried chickpeas, you’ll need to soak them overnight in water (ratio: 1 cup chickpeas + 3 cups water) so they can rehydrate and bloat to normal size. Whether you are using hydrated chickpeas or canned chickpeas, you’ll want them to be nice and soft, and hulls removed, in order to get a silky smooth result, hence in this recipe I have cooked the chickpeas with baking soda before use. It will froth up when cooking so keep a watch for any over-spillage! Once boiled for approx 20 minutes, drain in rapidly running tap water. The hulls will literally float to the top like transparent mini jelly fish, and are easy to discard. No more hull removing by hand!
Tahini is easily found on your supermarket shelves – try the organic or health food aisles. You may have two choices – unhulled or hulled tahini, but I would recommend that latter as it helps with that silky texture which is glorious. Tahini is a little like peanut butter in so far as the natural oils will rise to the top of the jar. Be sure to give it a good stir before using.
The secret to a creamy hummus I think is: the order of ingredients (blending lemon, garlic, salt, tahini first) then adding iced water as you need to thin it down if necessary; and of course hulled chickpeas. If you leave the hulls on it will be a chunkier texture (still delicious though) but not that beautiful silky smooth texture that is set to impress.
Tahini is best eaten fresh and can last a week in the fridge when in an air-tight container.
How do you use hummus? It is delicious as a dip with pita crisps or raw vegetable sticks on a nibbles platter AND as a spread on wraps or a sandwich.
Once you have mastered the traditional recipe, have fun with variations.
- Herby Hummus: add 3/4 cup of loosely packed leafy green herbs
- Red Pepper Hummus: 3/4 cup of drained and sliced roasted red peppers
- Olive Hummus: add 3/4 cup pitted olives
- Beetroot Hummus: add 3/4-1 cup of cooked beetroot (with skin removed)
Homemade Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups hydrated chickpeas (or canned)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup hulled tahini
- 2 –4 Tbsp iced water
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Suggested Toppings
- ground paprika
- chopped parsley
- drizzle of olive oil
- sesame seeds
Method
- Measure hydrated or canned chickpeas into a saucepan, add baking soda, then cover with an inch or so of water. Bring to the boil and continue cooking for approx 20 minutes. Drain, rinse rapidly under the tap and discard the hulls that rise to the top. Repeat as necessary until all the hulls have been removed from the surface.
- In a food processor, kitchen whiz or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Blitz until the garlic is finely chopped.
- Add tahini to the lemon mixture and blend until thick and creamy. Scrape down the sides intermittently so everything blends well together into a creamy pale paste. Add 2 or more tablespoons of ice water and blend until smooth, creamy and pale.
- Add ground cumin and the drained chickpeas. Drizzle in the olive oil and blend further until it’s smooth. Add more water if required to get a ultra-smooth texture.
- Taste, and add more salt or lemon juice until it’s to your preference.
- Transfer hummus to a serving bowl, top with garnishes and enjoy.
