Medieval Hummus
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:About 4½ cups
- ⅓cup raw hazelnuts
- 1½tablespoons caraway seeds
- 1tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1½teaspoons sesame seeds
- ¼cup shelled roasted unsalted pistachios
- 5mint leaves
- 1small sprig tarragon, leaves only
- 3½cups cooked drained chickpeas (homemade from 8 ounces dried chickpeas or from two 15-ounce cans chickpeas)
- ½cup tahini
- ¼cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste (see Tip)
- ½tablespoon ground sumac, plus more for sprinkling
- 1½teaspoons rice vinegar
- Salt
- ½cup ice-cold water
Preparation
- Step 1
In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the hazelnuts, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and the skins begin to split, 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. When cool, gently rub off the skins and discard.
- Step 2
Using the same pan, toast the caraway, coriander and sesame seeds, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool slightly (the seeds will continue to toast).
- Step 3
Add the toasted hazelnuts and the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until they release their oils and make a compact paste, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mint and tarragon and pulse to combine.
- Step 4
Add the chickpeas to the mixture in the food processor, reserving a handful for garnish. Then add the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, the toasted seeds, sumac, rice vinegar and a pinch of salt. Start pulsing and gradually add the ice water, splash by splash, until creamy and smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt, as desired.
- Step 5
Spoon the hummus onto a plate. (If you like, use a piping bag and experiment with different tips for an artful presentation.) Drizzle with olive oil, dust with sumac and finish with a few chickpeas on top.
Tip
- Instead of lemon juice, Lucien Zayan uses half of a preserved lemon (preferably made with minimal salt) and adds a splash of its liquid along with the ice water.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Michael
I prefer passing the cooked garbanzos through a food mill. It involves more work than a food processor, but it strains out the seed coating and produces a creamier puree.
capeMimi
I make hummus without tahini. Into the food processor: rinsed canned chick peas, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic cloves to taste, salt to taste. I add bits of water to loosen it up or add a roasted red pepper. For heat, sometimes I add a pinch of cayenne. To serve, I will spread on a plate, top with minced tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, chopped roasted pistachios, minced parsley and mint, then drizzle with olive oil. I think hummus takes a fair amount of salt to be tasty.
Judy
Some types of sumac (there are many) have white berries that can produce a painful, itchy skin rash similar to poison ivy. They are not eaten. The kind sold as a ground spice is from one of the red-berried varieties and is widely consumed in middle eastern dishes.
Jo B.
Please note that some people are violently allergic to sumac. Its presence should always be disclosed.
Judy
Didn't have hazelnuts so I used roasted, salted almonds. Eliminated roasting and removing skins, though hazelnuts would add character. I tripled the lemon juice and sumac; doubled the rice vinegar, and used more salt to punch up the flavor. Use GROUND coriander! Since the recipe didn't specify, I used whole seeds. Bad mistake. They didn't break down in the food processor. Nobody wants to chew and swallow the hard, dry pieces. So it's like eating watermelon and spitting out the seeds.
TT
in traditional hummus, oil is NEVER blended with the chickpeas (only swirled on top). just add additional ice water, if needed.
Marie
Sumac is the dark red spice sprinkled on middle eastern foods, salads, etc. You can get it on line or your local Penzey's https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-sumac-1763131
Amy
It's also one of the main ingredients in the spice mix zaatar (or za'atar if you prefer), which as someone else has already pointed out would make a good substitute. You can get both at the sources the other replies have already mentioned.
Robert Palm
Years ago, when my brief fling with a Greek Revival house in Walpole, New Hampshire had come to an end, I went over to a neighbor's garden. The owner had the same name as a tragic heroine in a Brian Moore novel; she, too, was private and reticent. I said I had a stash of old, well-rotted hummus I wanted to give her; bemused, she followed me to my compost pile and gently corrected me on the pronunciation of humus. If she's still alive, I hope she enjoys this ancient recipe as much as I did.
Coleen
Zaatar would work as well as sumac. I prefer it
Amy
The original blog post uses walnuts.
sol sepsenwol
Rubbing the skins off hazelnuts is a pain and not worth it for 1/3 cup. Buy the roasted, skinned version.
Sean Dell
Most hummus is a little grainy, which betrays the lack of time in the food processor. To get the creaminess that transforms hummus from good to great, blitz for at least five minutes.
AWW
Can you provide some evidence or medical research on this? I was totally unaware and after looking online quickly I couldn't see anything to validate allergies that are specifically linked to Sumac.
Sara
Sumac is very common in Lebanese cuisine. It is often used as a garnish with good olive oil on top of hummus, too.
Claudia
I make dukka on a regular basis, using the same seeds used in this recipe. I grind each type by itself since they have slightly different hardnesses. And that means, of course, that I also toast them separately. Try it. It makes a difference.
Ritch66
Love this recipe! It’s a bit decadent but love the nuts instead of garlic. Like if pesto married hummus. Recommend double the lemon and more salt.
Klaus
Great taste, it's my favourite Hummus
AJ
This was nutty, creamy and full of good flavors. I would add actual lemon juice as well as the preserved lemon and maybe a bit more sumac than the recipe calls for. This is one of the best hummus (hummusi?) I’ve ever had.
Kathleen
This is utterly delicious as is. I did add another Tbs of lemon juice and another pinch of salt at the end. Hazelnuts, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, tarragon—genius flavor combo.
Kathy Stanford
I made this last night. It’s so creamy(texture) and tasty! Next time, I think, I’ll add the toasted spices when I pulse the nuts. I made a Hummus bowl with it & added the Farro Pilaf with Balsamic Cherries & the Sheet Pan Gochujiang Shrimp & Green Beans…had Asparagus & used that instead. All so good!
ilene
I do not have a food processor or blender. Any ideas on how I might make this? (I imagine they didn’t have such things in 13th Century Iraq so… there’s got to be a way :)
Ramona
This is similar to regular hummus, yet the spice profile is so unique. Really delicious. The only unroasted pistachios I could find we shelled, and I have no time for shelling nuts on a weeknight, so I subbed roasted and salted pistachios. It worked fine by just adding a little less salt. If you have a blender, use it. It makes hummus so much better, even if it is a bit of a pain to scrape out the hummus. Using a Vitamix has transformed my relationship with home-made hummus (in a good way).
NameRMM
I used more mint and tarragon. Yumm.
LDP
If you make this dish, please tell people it has nuts in it, in case they have a severe nut allergy. Hummus is considered a safe dish to most people with nut allergies, and they might just dive in without thinking to ask about nuts. This could be very serious and dangerous.
Maureen
Sounds delicious. But I'm afraid hummus is what I go to for a fast cooked meal. I also have been eating whole wheat pita now for so long that I can't imagine eating white flour pita anymore.
Natalie
I had a full tub of Costco plain hummus. I added all the ingredients to that and elevated it into savory, sublime deliciousness! I doubled the lemon juice, simply because the lemon produced that much juice.
Natalie
Also, I substituted tamarind paste for the sumac, as I wasn't able to readily find sumac. I will order some. Even the tamarind paste was not easy to find. That was three grocery stores, and then finally a visit to a Mexican grocery store to find that.
Wordsworth from Wadsworth
I once heard on the Food Network (when that outlet actually had cooking instruction) that tarragon is the herb that dries the best and is closest to fresh. Of course, with concentrated dried you'd use a tad less. So I will just buy a jar of tarragon dried, and save some for next time.
JB
Followed the recipe, using canned chickpeas. The spice mixture as listed, with its emphasis on caraway seeds, which I ground with a mortar and pestle after toasting, delivers a "rye bread in dip form" flavor. Should have heeded the more critical reviews. Next time I will try a less medieval spice mixture (perhaps following Nasrallah's blog more closely) along with the preserved lemon.
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