In Search of the Perfect Hummus Recipe

I’ve taken quite a large leap in my search for making the perfect hummus. I’ve been inspired by Shooky and Tal at The Hummus Blog, by both their philosophy and practice. I was accustomed to making hummus from canned chick peas for years. It was much easier and faster.  I also could never really get dried chick peas to come out with good flavor and consistency. I believe after some research and a little trial and error, that I have found a great recipe for making hummus with dried beans. Thanks again to these gentleman for the great info. The Hummus Blog. I’ve made some changes.

How to prepare the chick peas:

Find small chick peas, preferably organic. Start with 1 cup. Put them in a colander and sort through and discard anything gross looking. Nails and broken glass are better left OUT. Rinse with cold water very well, even more than you think you should. Now, pour them in a bowl at least 3 cups in size, add water to cover and a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. The baking soda will help soften the chick peas while cooking. After 3 hours of soaking, change the water. Let sit a few more hours and wash them very well again in the colander.

Ok, this is where things get a little weird. Well, this is where things get VERY weird. Cooking these things?! Well, I have been using a pressure cooker with great results, but you can use the old fashioned way. I put my chickies in the pressure cooker and covered with a few inches of water. I added a bay leaf and a little olive oil to help settle down the foaming. I put on the lid, brought up to pressure and cooked for 15 minutes and immediately cooled it down. Beautifully cooked chick peas! Be sure to put aside the the cooking liquid. We’ll need it later. Put it somewhere safe where no one will be tempted to chug it like a sports drink/energy beverage. Rinse the chick peas and you’re ready to make hummus!

If you don’t have a pressure cooker (I feel like I’m the only one who has one,) cook on a low boil forever. Maybe 1.5-2 hours, until they are soft and can be smushed with your fingers.

Now it gets a little more fun. Put all but maybe 15 chickpeas in a food processor along with 2 cloves of garlic. Blend them up. They won’t be very smooth yet, but that’s ok. Squeeze in the juice of a fresh lemon. It will end up being about 1/4 of a cup. I would have an extra on hand in case you like more. Process that. Add about 1/2 cup of good tahini. Most Greek kinds at a regular supermarket taste like nothing and therefore your hummus will take on that same quality of nothingness. Like a blackhole in your mouth. I believe the quality of the tahini may be the most important factor in hummus making. I use Sahadi’s brand. It’s very nutty and dry. I would compare this to the difference between Skippy and freshly ground peanut butter. Process  this. I add about 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 2 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil. Process a lot. A whole lot. Slowly add your precious chick pea water until the result is a little thinner than you want. When it sits and chills it will thicken up quite a bit. Stir things up and process again if you need to. You want every lump out. Now taste and adjust. Pour everything in your hummus bowl and cool in the fridge.

Here are some topping ideas: fresh minced parsley, olive oil, those 15 saved chick peas, sumac, paprika, olives, fava beans, etc.

I’m getting close to the perfect hummus!