Hummus is a quintessential Middle Eastern dip made by blending chickpeas with tahini, garlic and citrus.
INGREDIENTS
150 gr of dry chickpeas
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 small to medium garlic clove
3 to 4 tablespoons of tahini
3 to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice (1 lemon)
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
OPTIONAL: paprika or za’atar
STEPS
The soaking and cooking of the chickpeas require very little effort and attention so the real ‘cooking’ time is just 15 minutes. Making hummus with canned chickpeas will never be as nice and what it’s meant to taste like – making it from dried chickpeas is easy, you just need to think ahead.
Rinse the dry chickpeas, then soak them in plenty of water with 1 heaped teaspoon of baking soda for 10-12 hours.
Rinse out the chickpeas. Put them in a saucepan, cover with 1.25 litre of water, bring to boil and then simmer, partly covered, for about 60 minutes until soft. Do not put salt while the chickpeas cook. Occasionally skim off the foam that forms on the water’s surface. Once the chickpeas are soft, drain BUT you need to keep the water the chickpeas cooked in.
Put the chickpeas in a blender. Pour 130 ml of the cooking water you saved then add the tahini, lemon juice, olive, garlic and salt. Mix it until you obtain a smooth texture, similar to thick yoghurt. Add a bit more cooking water if you find the hummus too thick. Taste and then add more salt, tahini and lemon juice depending on your own taste.
Pour the hummus in a bowl and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over it. You can also add a sprinkle of paprika or some za’atar if you wish.
Serve it warm with Arabic bread or eat it cold later. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days.