@Becky, I’ve working on this hummus recipe over 15 yrs now
I keep tweaking as I learn and understand more each time I make it.
But before you get started...a warning, hummus is a labor of love. It’s involved. Us hummus makers are obsessed.
But it’s so worth the effort. That thick paste they sell in stores is not what hummus should ever be like. Good hummus is silky smooth, so light and fluffy it’s like whipped cream...like a mouthful of savory billowy clouds.
I believe there’s a few absolutes when making hummus. Then there’s the cook’s feel and intuition to finesse it to just the right flavors for your palate.
Absolutes:
Dried chickpeas, never canned. And not just any old chickpeas. Tiny ones. More on that below.
Salt: Do not add salt to the cooking water. Salt in cooking will toughen chickpeas
Baking soda: 1 teaspoon of baking soda in soaking water and 1 teaspoon in cooking water will help the chickpeas cook up tender.
Boiling: a very very gentle boil and skim off foam as chickpeas cook. A hard boil will disintegrate the chickpeas before they are tender. A simmer right under a boil is best. But it takes time. If you want to move it along, then bring the heat up to a very very gentle boil.
Tahini: flavor is completely/totally/absolutely determined by tahini brand. I cannot stress enough how the brand of tahini determines flavor. Never use the brands from India. It will make horrible tasting hummus as there tahini has a very bitter flavor. I don’t care for any of the domestic and organic brands in the US either. I’ve plowed through a dozen brands and I find the Middle Eastern brands produce the best tasting hummus. As long as the tahini is Israeli, Lebanese, and Palestinian made you should be ok.
Tahini brands:
Al Arz - Israel definitely my preferred brand. This is the best available in the US.
Al Wadi - Lebanon My second choice of brands
Ziyad - Middle Eastern exact country of origin unknown. Ziyad Brothers have imported food products from the Middle East into the US for decades. They are based in Chicago. I’ve used this brand for many years. It’s gets top marks from Cook’s Illustrated. A good choice if my other two favorites are not available
Other brands that I’ve read are suppose to be excellent. Al Jamal is not available in US. Al Taj is now available online here so I’m going to try it.
Al-Jamal - Palestinian
Al Taj - Lebanon
Chickpeas: Use the smallest golden color chickpeas you can find. The ones I currently use are labeled kabuli. They’re from India, but makes a very good hummus. When I lived in Southern California I was able to purchase middle eastern chickpeas. Can’t find them where I now live. But if you can find chickpeas imported from the Middle East, grab them.
Chickpeas to avoid are the tiny dark one called a desi, and the larger Mexican variety. The desi is excellent for India dal, but not hummus.
Soaking: chickpeas need to be soaked overnight. You can soak them up to two days, but you must change the water if you go more than a day.
There’s a middle-eastern restaurant in Oakland called Ba-Bite. The owner is Israeli; she makes a hummus that is mind blowingly light and smooth and so delicate in flavor. When I go there the only thing I order is hummus—it’s so good I just want to savor eating just her hummus. I once read she soaks her chickpeas for two days. She looks for the first signs of sprouting, then cooks them. I usually soak 1 1/2 days and never to the sprouting stage. So I don’t if they are better soaked more or not. But I definitely change my water during the soak.
Final note, blending the hummus is made by taste and feel. As you make it, you look at texture. You taste and adjust to your taste. I like more tahini and lemon juice than a traditional hummus, so I make it to my preferences. You know it’s done when it taste right to you. So the amounts here are guidelines. A place to start.
======
Hummus
1 cup dried chickpeas, kabuli or any golden colored chickpea, the smallest you can in a golden color that’s not real dark.
1/2 - 3/4 cup Al Arz tahini brand; it’s important to stir the tahini very well before measuring as it separates in the container.
1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, to taste. I like lemon so I use 1/2 cup
1 - 2 TBSP good olive oil (to taste)
2 -3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped, to taste
1/3 tsp kosher salt to start. Adjust salt as you make
2-3 tsp cumin, to taste
For serving
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Toasted pinenuts
Baking soda for soaking.
SOAKING - night before
Check chickpeas toss any bad beans and debris
Wash the chickpeas several times in large bowl filled with cold water.
Place chickpeas in large glass or metal bowl. Fill bowl at least 3” over chickpeas. Add a teaspoon of baking soda. Soak overnight. If soaking longer, change the water in the morning. No need to add baking soda when the water is changed.
Drain and rinse chickpeas well before you begin cooking.
Put chickpeas in large heavy pot. Fill pot with enough clean cold water so it's 3 to 4 inches above chickpeas. Add 1 tsp baking soda.
Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to very low so it’s a very very gentle boil at most. Cook until tender and the inside is uniform color when crushed between fingers.
Skim off foam as chickpeas cook.
Drain and rinse chickpeas. Note: I use to reserve cooking water to thin puréed chickpeas, but I don’t want the baking soda in the hummus, so now I use fresh water to thin.
While chickpeas cook, stir the tahini very well, scrape the bottom of the jar with a spatula as the paste sinks to the bottom and the oil floats to the top.
Place salt and garlic cloves in food processor. Process until minced.
Transfer 1/2 the chickpeas to food processor. Add some lemon juice, olive oil, and 1/4 cup fresh water. Process until it forms a paste. Add rest of chickpeas and more lemon juice and water. Process another 1 min or so adding water as needed.
Add tahini and cumin. Puree until hummus is the consistency of whipped cream. Again, you will
need to add more water.
Add small amounts of water until smooth and consistency of a light and flowing cake batter.
Hummus will thicken considerably when cooled so a light flowing consistency thinner than desired texture is the goal when processing. When it’s cooled, the hummus should be light and fluffy like whipped cream.
Taste adjust salt, cumin, and lemon juice to taste. Chill or serve warm. I like my hummus slightly chilled.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and topped with toasted pinenuts.
This is a kabuli chickpea from India. Since I can’t find Middle Eastern dried chickpeas locally, I’ve been using kabuli. Makes a very good hummus.
