The Best Hummus

I've never made my own hummus before because you can pretty much get it at any store, but I went for it.  The good?  It was amazing!!!! The bad? I will never buy store-bought again and I'm forced to make my own now.  You have to go the extra step and peel the chickpeas to make this as smooth as butter- I promise it only takes a few minutes.  And, I got Tessa involved and she loved to help!  This recipe is from the Ottolenghi cookbook, which is kind of a huge deal around these parts... it is bonafide stuff.  You have to let it rest for a while, to let the flavors come together, before it reaches optimal deliciousness.

courtesy

The Best Hummus

From Smitten Kitchen

Makes 1 3/4 cups hummus

1 3/4 cups drained chickpeas (from a 15-ounce can)
1/2 cup tahini paste
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 teaspoon table salt, or more to taste
Approximately 1/4 cup water 

Olive oil, paprika, pita wedges (brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with a combination of sesame seeds and sea salt), and/or carrot sticks [optional] to serve.

For canned chickpeas: Peel your chickpeas. I find this is easiest when you take a chickpea between your thumb and next two fingers, arranging the pointy end in towards your palm, and “pop!” the naked chickpea out. Discard the skin. 

In a food processor (I used my blendtec), blend the chickpeas until powdery clumps form, a full minute, scraping down the sides. Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt and blend until pureed. With the machine running, drizzle in water or reserved chickpea cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get very smooth, light and creamy mixture. I find I need about 4 tablespoons for this volume, but you may need slightly more or less.

Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt or lemon if needed. I do recommend that you hold off on adding more garlic just yet, however. I find that it “blooms” as it settles in the fridge overnight, becoming much more garlicky after a rest, so that even if it doesn’t seem like enough at first, it likely will be in the long run.

Transfer the hummus to a bowl and rest it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, longer if you can. To serve, drizzle it with a little olive oil, and sprinkle it with paprika. Serve it with pita wedges or carrot sticks.