This is a classic Israeli appetizer and spread that happens to be very good for you as well as tasty! You can serve hummus so many different ways with countless variations. This is the basic recipe. If you cannot make it with dried chickpeas, you can substitute 2, 15-ounce cans of chickpeas. Try to make it fresh as the taste is better and of course better for you. Once you have made it fresh you will think twice about buying ready-made hummus, which does not hold a candle to homemade. For a spicier hummus, add a bit of cayenne pepper when processing the mixture. Hummus stays fresh for a few days in the fridge.
- 1 pound (about 2 cups) dried organic chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, more to taste
- 1/2 cup tahini, plus ¼ cup tahini for topping(unseasoned, pure sesame paste)
- ¼-1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste when pureeing
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- paprika, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons parsley,chopped
- Ho Pita bread, or pita chips, when ready to serve
In a bowl, cover the dried chickpeas with water and mix in the baking soda. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate the chickpeas overnight. In the morning, drain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water in a colander .
In a pot, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of cool water. Add the garlic cloves and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat; partially cover the pot, cooking for 20 minutes. Remove garlic cloves and set aside. Continue cooking until the chickpeas are tender, about 20 minutes more. Add about 2 teaspoons of sea salt to the pot of chick peas just before draining. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain immediately. Set aside two tablespoons of chickpeas for garnish, rinsing them if needed.
Peel the cooked garlic cloves and discard peels.
In a food processor, puree the chickpeas with 3/4 cup of the reserved cooking water, 1/4 cup olive oil and 6-7 cooked and peeled garlic cloves, as well as 1-2 fresh crushed garlic cloves. Add the cumin along with 1/2 cup of the tahini and ¼-1/3 cup lemon juice, cayenne pepper if using, and process until creamy. Add more water at this point, if needed, to obtain a creamy consistency. Season the hummus with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a serving bowl.
Cleanse food processor. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of tahini, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 of reserved cooking water or purified water, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and freshly crushed garlic cloves, to taste. Add more water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
With a large spoon, make an indentation in the center of the hummus. Spoon in the tahini-lemon mixture. Sprinkle the hummus with paprika and parsley to garnish along with the reserved whole chickpeas and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Serve with hot pita bread or zaatar and garlic toasted pita chips from Delicious and Kosher.com. Click HERE for the recipe.
- 1 pound (about 2 cups) dried organic chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed for garnish
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin, more to taste
- ½ cup tahini, plus ¼ cup tahini for topping(unseasoned, pure sesame paste)
- ¼-1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste when pureeing
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- paprika, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons parsley,chopped
- Ho Pita bread, or pita chips, when ready to serve
- In a bowl, cover the dried chickpeas with water and mix in the baking soda. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate the chickpeas overnight. In the morning, drain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water in a colander .
- In a pot, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of cool water. Add the garlic cloves and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat; partially cover the pot, cooking for 20 minutes. Remove garlic cloves and set aside. Continue cooking until the chickpeas are tender, about 20 minutes more. Add about 2 teaspoons of sea salt to the pot of chick peas just before draining. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain immediately. Set aside two tablespoons of chickpeas for garnish, rinsing them if needed.
- Peel the cooked garlic cloves and discard peels.
- In a food processor, puree the chickpeas with ¾ cup of the reserved cooking water, ¼ cup olive oil and 6-7 cooked and peeled garlic cloves, as well as 1-2 fresh crushed garlic cloves. Add the cumin along with ½ cup of the tahini and ¼-1/3 cup lemon juice, cayenne pepper if using, and process until creamy. Add more water at this point, if needed, to obtain a creamy consistency. Season the hummus with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a serving bowl.
- Cleanse food processor. Add the remaining ¼ cup of tahini, ¼ cup of olive oil, ¼ of reserved cooking water or purified water, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and freshly crushed garlic cloves, to taste. Add more water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- With a large spoon, make an indentation in the center of the hummus. Spoon in the tahini-lemon mixture. Sprinkle the hummus with paprika and parsley to garnish along with the reserved whole chickpeas and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve with hot pita bread or zaatar and garlic toasted pita chips from Delicious and Kosher.com.
I make my Hummus the authentic way but I don’t add any lemon while in the food processor, I only drizzle lemon on top of the dish when it’s already in individual bowls. The Lemon makes it sour and there’s nothing worse then sour Hummus
The key is also the Tehina quantity that you add to the Hummus while it’s in the Food Processor. If you add too much Tehina, the dish will turn out too nutty….for 1 cup of Chick peas, add 4 Tbsp of Tehina, garlic, Cumin, sea salt, and alittle water to make the consistency perfect..