Our local pub recently added a house-made hummus to their menu and we’re pretty happy about that — (a girl needs to balance out her pub night fries after all).
The Chef won’t divulge her secret recipe but the hummus is served with warm pita, a side of pickled red onions and topped with feta, kalamata olives and — when they’re really on their game — rosemary oil and hot pepper flakes.
wowsa… we’ve fallen hard for this tasty number and have been embracing mezze season working on our own batches at home. Hummus makes a great appetizer, but it’s also a good base for any meal – just add on whatever you like.
Low fuss, perfect summer food.
Mise en Place
There’s some prep time involved with this recipe but it’s mostly unattended (soaking the chickpeas overnight while you sleep and simmering them the next day).
You’ll also want to get your hands on a bag of dried chickpeas and some quality tahini. Otherwise, you’re looking at fresh lemon juice, garlic to taste (we like da taste), olive oil, salt + any other seasonings you’d like.
Start with Dry Chickpeas
If hummus could speak it would implore you to use dry chickpeas over those sad grey canned chickpeas in the pantry — we all have ’em (try it at least once!) cooking from scratch ensures the freshest most flavorful result and the process is actually fun (promise) and very satisfying.
Soaking the dry chickpeas overnight allows them to expand slowly developing the full integrity of the bean and also has the bonus of reducing the beans cooking time in half (pic below is before/after soak prior to cooking – the beans looks so healthy, they’re glowing!).
Why Baking Soda
Adding baking soda to the cooking water helps soften the chickpeas (ideal for hummus) and loosen their skins which makes shelling much easier — both are key to creating a luscious creamy texture. I take you through the step-by-step process in the recipe card and also offer options for the lemon/garlic/sodium balance to suit preferences. Be sure to read through the instructions fully before making the hummus.
Garnish Possibilities
- drizzled olive oil (if you have herb infused oil, it’s great here)
- fresh chopped herbs — whatever you like: rosemary, basil, chives, parsley, oregano, thyme, are just some options
- spices — paprika, sumac, ground black pepper, hot pepper flakes …
- seasoning blends: dukkah/duqqa and za’atar — delicious Middle Eastern mixtures of herbs/spices/nuts/seeds
- other nuts/seeds: chopped almond, pine nuts, sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin …
- veg/other: sundried tomato, chopped fresh tomato; avocado; olives; thin-sliced roasted or pickled bell peppers, pickled onion, pickled jalapeño, feta …
For Dipping
Pita wedges are the convention — invest in a good quality pita bread and (unless you’re in a mega-heatwave, don’t look at us we’re in a cold snap), I recommend warming them up… so good! Lots of options: in the oven, on the grill or, if you have a gas stove, my favorite is over a low flame burner – don’t take your eyes off them and be ready to remove with tongs ~ you can brush with olive oil and sprinkle with fine chopped herbs. No need to stop at pita though, create your own plate with your favorite seasonal dippers (TJ’s gluten-free multiseed tamari soy sauce crackers below, yummmy):
Hummus Freezes Well
Keep whatever you plan on using in a sealed container in the fridge for the week and consider freezing the rest of the hummus in portion sized amounts — when you’re ready to use, just take out what you need from the freezer the day before and let it defrost in the fridge overnight.
- 350g (2 full cups) cooked chickpeas from 1+1/2 cups dry, I used these, (if you end up with extra just reserve for another purpose)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 125g (1/2 cup) tahini, I used this brand (I also like Soom)
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2-4 garlic cloves, to taste (garlic flavor tends to bloom over time)
- 4-6 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, to taste
- 2-4 Tbsp ice cold water (pop in freezer a few minutes prior)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½-3/4 tsp salt or to taste
- Place chickpeas in a large bowl covering them with cold water at least twice their volume. Leave to soak overnight.
- The next day, drain and rinse your chickpeas - bring a large pot of water with baking soda to a boil on the stove. Carefully add rinsed chickpeas to boiling water and simmer for approximately 35 minutes or until the chickpeas are very tender (but not to the point of disintegrating). There may be foam that forms, not to worry.
- Read through first: Once cooked, remove the pot from stove and tilt the pot over the sink to drain water into a strainer allowing any skins to fall out while keeping the beans in the pot - add running water to the pot to cover the beans -- you should see more chickpea skins rise to the surface (you can use your hands to agitate the water and gently rub the chickpeas to assist) tilt the pot again to one side to allow the skins to fall into the strainer; you can repeat this process until you have 2 cups of cooked and shelled chickpeas (you can also use your fingers to pinch the skins off the chickpeas if preferred, it's kinda fun) -- don't worry if you don't get all of the skins; you will still end up with a luxuriously creamy hummus.
- Place a couple Tbsp of water in a cup and pop in freezer (you just need a couple minutes for it to get ice cold, you don't want it to freeze).
- Place the cooked and (mostly) shelled chickpeas in a processor along with the tahini, 1 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, 4 Tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin and ½ tsp salt - process for about 5 minutes. Stop machine, scrape down sides as necessary and taste to determine whether you'd like to add more oo/lemon/salt -- start processor again and while machine is running, add additional Tbsp oil/1-2 Tbsp lemon/pinch of salt as desired and then while still running add the ice cold water 1 Tbsp at a time to desired consistency. **You don't want the hummus to be too thin or overly dilute - you're aiming for soft, creamy and fluffy.**
- Let the processor run for another few minutes until you have a very smooth and creamy texture.
- Make any final taste adjustments desired ~ enjoy your homemade hummus!
Annie says
I have a question. Do you recommend the food processor or vitamix blender? This looks delicious by the way and cannot wait to try!!
Thank you,
Annie
kelly / inspired edibles says
Hi Annie! for hummus it’s generally best to work with a blender :) i hope you love this recipe; let me know how it goes, cheers.
Alicia says
we have been making “once upon a chef” hummus for years. i love her recipes. We tried this one. and OMG.. best ever. LOVE. I also made your butternut squash borani – which was AMAZING. so happy to have found you. thanks so much for posting your goodness.
kelly / inspired edibles says
Alicia, what a joy to read your note; thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback and kind support of my work; I am thrilled to hear that you loved this hummus (and the kadoo borani:) it brings the biggest smile to receive your words, truly appreciative.
mjskitchen says
This is such a great post for so many reasons. I’ve never cooked dried chickpeas so I knew nothing about using the baking soda to loosen the skin. In fact, I didn’t even realized that the skin needed to be removed; however, looking at your hummus I can see why that is a must. What a beautiful smooth texture. Looking through the ingredients, it’s obvious that it’s also delicious! Love the bar’s idea of serving it with pickled onions, but then I LOVE pickled onions. Lovely photos and fabulous post Kelly.
Eva Taylor says
Wow, wow, wow! Your hummus looks so silky smooth, absolutely incredible. I haven’t made hummus in a while so I’m definitely trying your recipe asap.
Ontario is opening restaurants with outdoor patios on Friday!! Yay! Finally! Wish we had a pub like yours nearby.
kelly / inspired edibles says
yay!!! that’s fantastic, i hope you get out to celebrate Eva; they’ve done such a good job with the outdoor set-up (we’re under a beautiful canopy of trees with the sun filtering in softly) we may never go back inside :) x