Here you will find a classic, ultra-smooth hummus recipe that is a cinch to make and so much better than store-bought. With just a few ingredients, and some simple tips, you can make the creamiest, smoothest hummus at home. Note: This hummus recipe gives you the option of using canned or dried chickpeas. Becasue of this, there is no "cook time" reflected in the recipe.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
3cupscooked chickpeas (canned or cooked from scratch)*See notes for cooking dried chickpeas and for softening canned chicpeas
2-3garlic cloves
1teaspoonkosher salt
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/2cuptahini paste
1/4cupice water
extra virgin olive oilto finish
Instructions
Add garlic through the feed tube of a food processor while running and process for a few seconds until garlic is minced. Stop the processor and add the cooked chickpeas and salt. Puree until a smooth, paste-like mixture forms, adding a few splashes of cooking liquid if necessary.
Add tahini, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons ice water. Blend for about 4 minutes or so, scraping down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary. If the consistency is too thick, add a little more ice water, one tablespoon at a time. Blend again until the hummus is fluffy and smooth.
At this point it is important to taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary—I almost always add another pinch of salt and few more squirts of lemon juice.
Spoon into a serving bowl and swirl with the back of a spoon to make a few swooshes. Drizzle with your best olive oil and serve with warm pita bread, flatbread, or veggies. Leftover hummus keeps well in the refrigerator, in a tight-lid container, for up to 1 week.
Notes
This Ultra Smooth Hummus Recipe is adapted from Michael Solomonov, via Zahav and Yotam Ottolenghi via Jerusalem.HOW TO COOK DRIED CHICKPEAS (start the night before you plan to make hummus):Soak the chickpeas. Place 1 1/4 cup dried beans into a large heavy-bottomed pot, cover them with 2 inches of water (roughly 1 quart), add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Soak for 12 hours or overnight. When ready to cook the beans, drain and rinse well then return them to the pot. Cook the chickpeas. Cover them with at least three inches of fresh water, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the chickpeas are extremely soft and beginning to crumble, straining the scum and skins that float to the top from time to time. This could take anywhere from 50 minutes, to 2 hours, depending on the age of the beans. For hummus, I cook the chicpeas for at least 75 minutes, or until they are very mushy. This will yield approximately 3 cups of cooked chickpeas. Drain and reserve liquid. Once cooked, agitate the beans in the cooking liquid a few times to loosen their skins and strain off any more that float to the top. Scoop out, and reserve, 1/2 cup liquid then drain in a colander.*I don't always use the liquid but if your tahini is very thick, you may need it. TIP: If using canned chickpeas test the softness of the canned chickpeas; pinch a few chickpeas between your fingers, if they are a bit hard place them in a pot and cover with two inches of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until very soft and falling apart. Scoop out, and reserve, 1/2 cup liquid then drain in a colander. *If the canned chickpeas are very soft, skip this step and proceed with recipe. BLENDER INSTRUCTIONS:I prefer using a food processor but if you have a powerful blender, it is a bit faster to make hummus. Add the cooked chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cooking liquid, and salt all at once and simply blend until really smooth, about 1-2 minutes. As it is blending, you may need to add more liquid, and use the baton (while running) or spatula (not while running) to push down the ingredients and help it along.