Silky Smooth Middle Eastern Hummus
Hummus has become such a mainstream meal staple for Americans. It can also be rather pricey, if eaten daily. Homemade hummus is full of healthy, tasty, ingredients and costs less than store-bought versions. The techniques and ingredients in this recipe provide a silky, smooth texture and lots of flavor.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup lemon juice 3/4 large lemon or 1 whole small lemon
- 2 cans (30 oz) garbanzo beans/chickpeas save ~2 tbsp of beans to add to the top when serving
- 1 tbsp baking soda to remove chickpea skins only
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for serving
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp garbanzo bean liquid (aka aquafaba) reserved from the cans
- ¼ cup tahini paste
Optional Toppings:
- 2 tbsp reserved garbanzo beans optional
- ¼ cup chopped pine nuts optional
- dust paprika over the olive oil on the top when serving optional
Instructions
Soak the Garlic (Optional): Cuts the garlic bitterness
- In a small bowl, add minced garlic cloves and cover with lemon juice. Set aside to soak for ~10 minutes.TIP: Soaking garlic in lemon juice cuts the bitterness of the garlic and adds garlic flavor to the juice. Straining the garlic eliminates the bitterness entirely while adding garlic flavor to the hummus. You can certainly add the garlic if you don’t mind that bit of a bite.
Remove Bean Skins (Optional): Creates a SMOOTH hummus
- Drain 2 cans of garbanzo beans reserving ½ cup of liquid (1 can) to add to the hummus. Rinse and drain the beans. In a large bowl, add the beans and stir in baking soda. Heat in the microwave or in a skillet over a stove for 2 minutes until the beans are hot.
- In the sink, cover the beans in the bowl with cold water. Rub the beans between your hands to agitating them to remove the skins. Pour off the water (with bean skins floating) from the beans into a colander to catch any beans. The baking soda helps to remove the skins from the garbanzo beans. Repeat another 3-4 times until most of the skins have been removed.TIP: Don't worry if some bean skins remain. If most of them have been removed the hummus will still be smooth.
Blend ALL the Ingredients
- In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add drained & rinsed beans, oil, cumin, salt, water, and garbanzo bean juice. Use a small strainer and strain the lemon juice with garlic into the food processor, discard any remaining garlic.TIPS: Olive oil is actually not necessary in hummus, but it provides additional silkiness. If you choose not to, just add more water and/or bean liquid. If you forget to reserve the bean liquid, just sub with more water.
- Process until smooth 30 seconds or so. Scrape down sides as needed and add ¼ cup tahini. TIP: Add tahini near the end of the processing because tahini absorbs water. Water should thin out the beans and not be soaked into the tahini right away.
- Process again for another 30 seconds or so until smooth. Taste and check consistency. Add additional tahini, water, oil, &/or bean liquid depending on preferred consistency and flavor. Season with additional salt, as needed. Process for another minute or so until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Scoop in a bowl or on a serving platter. Drizzle additional olive oil and other optional toppings over the hummus and serve.
Video
Notes
Storing:
Cover and store in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the dip in a freezer bag (or container) and allow to thaw for 24 hours in the fridge. If in a bag, scoop out into a bowl or on a serving platter and serve as you would normally.
Other Topping Suggestions:
Chopped parsley, chopped black or green olives, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, or red peppers, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, chopped nuts, sesame seeds, etc.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve as a dip with pita chips, crackers, crudité plate (carrots, celery, and radishes), and naan or pita. Use as a spread on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.