Description
An easy recipe for delicious homemade hummus.
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed or 3 cups of cooked chickpeas, drained (soak 1 cup dried chickpeas overnight and cook per package directions, making sure to add 1 teaspoon baking soda to cooking water to soften the chickpeas)
- 1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1/4 cup ice cold water or more, as needed
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt or more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil plus more for drizzling on top
- Optional toppings: a drizzle of olive oil, a few chickpeas, toasted pine nuts or toasted sesame seeds, a teaspoon of chopped parsley or mint, a sprinkling of ground cumin, Aleppo pepper, Urfa pepper, dried mint, paprika or toasted cumin seeds.
Instructions
- Put chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Process 30 seconds longer. Add olive oil (2 tablespoons) oand process for another minute or so, until smooth. Adjust flavor with additional salt or lemon juice if needed. If your tahini was extra thick, you may want to add additional ice cold water, a tablespoon at a time, and process until you achieve your desired consistency.
- To Serve, scoop hummus into a bowl just big enough to hold it. Use the back of a tablespoon to smooth it down and then make some swirly grooves. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into the swirly grooves and garnish with spices and herbs, if you like.
Notes
Where to buy tahini: Tahini is a rich buttery paste made from toasted ground sesame seeds. It's an essential ingredient in Middle Eastern dishes such Baba Ganoush, Shawarma and hummus. Look for tahini in the grocery store near the peanut butter and other nut butters. Tahini has a very long shelf life, 6 months if kept tightly sealed in the fridge.
How to prepare warm pita to serve with hummus: Brush whole pitas with olive oil on both sides and heat them on a grill pan on the stove or on your barbecue grill, over medium-high heat, pressing them into the hot pan/grates on both sides with a spatula, until they get grill marks. Using a pizza cutter, slice pitas in half and then crosswise into strips. Serve them warm, in a napkin-lined basket.
[This post first appeared on Panning The Globe in March 2013. It was updated in March 2020 with all new photos, added nutritional information, clarifying details in the written post and clearer instructions in the recipe.]
Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for the advice of a professional nutritionist.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: Lebanese