Vegetarian
Homemade Hummus Recipe
Description
This Homemade Hummus Recipe won’t disappoint! I have some tricks up my sleeve to make an ethereally smooth, restaurant-style hummus at home! It’s garlicky, lemony, and supremely creamy, and you don’t even need to start with dried chickpeas.
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large clove garlic
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice plus additional to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus additional to taste
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 ice cubes
- 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
- Big drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
- Optional Garnishes
- Sprinkle of ground paprika or sumac
- Sprinkle of zaatar
Directions
- Place the chickpeas in a medium pot and cover with 1 1/2 inches of water. Stir in the baking soda. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the chickpeas for 20 minutes, until they are soft, a number of their skins float to the surface, and a few are starting to break down.
- Meanwhile, peel the garlic clove, mince it as finely as you can (or grate it with a rasp) and place it in a small bowl. Stir in the lemon juice. Let sit for 10 minutes while the chickpeas cook (this mellows the garlic so it’s not as potent).
- Drain the chickpeas and return to the pot. Rinse with warm water, swishing them around with your hand (this helps remove any lingering tinny taste from the chickpeas, since we’re using canned). Pour off the top most part of the water (some of the skins will come with it), then drain the chickpeas. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the most entact chickpeas for garnish if you like, then immediately transfer the rest a food processor or high speed blender while still warm. No need to remove the rest of the chickpea skins.
- Strain the lemon/garlic mixture through a sieve into the food processor, pressing any solids into the sieve (if you don’t mind your hummus with a bigger garlic punch, you can just pour it right in and skip straining). Add the salt. Blend the chickpeas for at least 1 full minute, until they are as smooth as you can possibly get them at this point in the process, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add the tahini and ice cubes. Blend, blend, blend into smooth, creamy oblivion, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Evaluate the consistency—it should be similar to a thick yogurt; it’s likely you’ll need to add ice water. Put some cold water in a small liquid measuring cup with a spout, and add a handful of ice cubes (you need it COLD). With the processor running, stream in about 2 tablespoons of ice water. Keep adding 1 tablespoon at a time until your desired hummus consistency is reached.
- Taste and add salt or lemon juice to taste. Transfer to a serving plate. Use a spoon to make a few swooshes and shallow well in the center. Drizzle with a generous amount of more olive oil. Place the reserved chickpeas in the well, then with paprika, sumac, and/or zaatar to taste.
