My close friend David, whom you may know as @the.hungry.tourist, gave me the recipe for that creamy hummus the Arabs make so well. I tried it, and now I don’t need to fly to Beirut or Tel Aviv for it!
Ready for a great hummus?
The short answer
The creamy hummus the Arabs make so well, from my close friend David: 500 g of small chickpeas boil with baking soda for 3 hours, then become a smooth purée with 175 g of lightly roasted tahini, the juice of 4 lemons and salt. About 20 hours of soaking and waiting, 3 hours of cooking.
Recipe
Silky Smooth Hummus
- Prep20 hours (including soaking)
- Cook3 hours
Ingredients
- 500 g small chickpeas
- 1 level tbsp baking soda
- 4 large lemons, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 175 g lightly roasted tahini
Equipment
Large bowl, plenty of fresh water, pot, spoon, food processor
Method
- Soak the chickpeas in water overnight.
- After 12 hours, rinse them and change the water every half hour, four times in total.
- Boil the chickpeas with the baking soda and fresh water for 3 hours, lid on. Open it now and then to skim off the foam.
- By the end they should be almost as soft as porridge. If they aren’t, keep boiling until they practically fall apart on their own. Drain, saving the cooking water.
- Put the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt and, if you like, a clove of garlic in the food processor and blend until completely smooth. If it’s too thick, loosen it with the cooking water.
- Serve with pickles and a drizzle of olive oil, and flatbread such as lavash or pide on the side.
Measurement converter →Tap an ingredient to tick it off.
The secrets to smooth hummus
- Soak the chickpeas overnight; after 12 hours, rinse and change the water every half hour, four times in all.
- Boil with baking soda and fresh water, lid on, for 3 hours, skimming off the foam now and then.
- By the end they should be almost the texture of keşkek, a porridge-soft wheat and meat dish. If not, keep boiling until they’re ready to collapse on their own.
- Keep the cooking water when you drain them: if the hummus is too thick, that’s what you’ll loosen it with.
- Blend the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and salt in a food processor until smooth; add garlic if you like.
How to serve it
With pickles and olive oil, and a flatbread like lavaş or pide on the side.
