HUMMUS

Hummus is the creamy, dreamy dip that’s practically the MVP of Mediterranean snacking. Made primarily from mashed chickpeas, tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil (although I go without), it’s a velvety, protein packed treat that’s as versatile as it is delicious. Honestly, I love hummus because it’s the perfect blend of tangy, nutty, and smooth, a comfort food that never takes itself too seriously.

Making hummus at home is an absolute breeze. All you need is a food processor or a high-speed blender, some canned or cooked chickpeas, tahini (which gives it that rich, sesame kick), fresh lemon juice for that tangy zing, garlic for a little punch, olive oil for silkiness, and salt to taste. You can customize it with a sprinkle of paprika, a drizzle of extra olive oil, or parsley. Personally I love preserved lemons on top, but there’s no wrong answer here.

Want to nail the smoothest hummus ever? Here are my top tips:

  • Use dried chickpeas: Soaking and then boiling dried chickpeas will give you the best result. It’s not hard and its always a better result over the canned option.

  • Peel the chickpeas: Sounds tedious, but popping off those skins makes a massive difference, despite the fact that i never peel the chickpeas, because lazy.

  • Use ice cubes or ice cold water: Adding an ice cube at a time while blending helps achieve that luxuriously creamy consistency.

  • Don’t skimp on the tahini: It’s the secret star for that luscious mouthfeel.

  • Blend for longer: Patience is key, giving it enough time to emulsify makes all the difference.

HUMMUS

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HUMMUS 〰️

Time: Overnight + 40 minutes hand on

375gm dried chickpeas

1 tea spoon baking soda

8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 lemons, juice

100gm hulled tahini

Salt

Garnish: Extra virgin olive oil, paprika, fresh parsley, ground sumac, preserved lemon*

*check out my preserved lemon recipe via clicking this link

In a large bowl add in dried chickpeas and cover with cold water overnight. I like to change the water the next water with fresh cold water if I am making the hummus later in the day. Then drain the chickpeas, place in pot, cover with cold water and add in baking soda. Place on high heat and bring to a simmer, and then simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the chickpeas are soft and can be squished between two fingers with ease.

In a large food processor (if you don’t have a big processor, do the recipe in two batches), add in garlic and lemon juice and blitz on high until completely smooth and broken down. Add in the chickpeas with a pinch of salt and then blitz on high until it becomes smoothish, then add in the hulled tahini and blitz again until smoothish. Then the trick is, as the food processor is going on high add an ice cube one at a time until the hummus is the desired creamy, light and smoothness. I use about 10-12 ice cubes. Then season with salt to taste. Don’t be afraid to keep blitzing until its completely smooth, even up to 3 minutes is fine. 

Store hummus in container in fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months and defrost whenever you like. When serving, spoon onto plate and then draw a ‘o’ into hummus to create a well. Using a fork, dunk it in cold water and then paprika, and then stamp the outside wall of the hummus 8 times around. Add EVOO, sumac and rough chopped fresh parsley to the middle before finishing with diced preserved lemon.