Hummus

This is my go-to recipe for hummus. I've tried a couple of other recipes from the NYT, but they can't beat this one. I use 1 tablespoon of cumin and for variety, sometimes add a little smoked paprika (1/4-1/2 tsp). In response to the suggestion to remove the outer coating of the chickpeas to make the hummus smoother, I had just two thoughts: 1. How smooth does one's hummus need to be? 2. I hope I always have better things to do than de-coating chickpeas. Life can be hard, so keep hummus easy.

For the smoothest hummus, remove the hulls of the chickpeas. Get help, it is a little fiddly, but worth it. Also, I use a tablespoon of sesame oil, then I don't need to have a jar of tahini working its way to the back of my fridge.

I've made this recipe several times now, and I've settled on using the juice of two lemons and two teaspoons of cumin. I grew four different types of garlic last year, and I've made this recipe with each kind. The Chesnock Red Purple Stripe garlic is best of the bunch. This recipe is a keeper because it is so easy, and tastes so fresh. It's much better than anything I've ever bought.

1 cup dried Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 6.75 oz. =
~ 3 cups soaked and cooked

Made it tonight; I used almost 2 lemons, and less than 1 teaspoon cumin. I also drizzled fried chili flakes over it.

Served it with Lebanese Flatbread, fried eggplants and salad. Delicious.

Cook garbanzos -- never canned! Add bay leaf and thyme to water for variety. Remove cooked pea skins by pinching, popping out the pea. One tsp. smoked paprika (dulce), 2 tsp. cumin, 2 (Meyer) lemons, plus zest of one. Lots of salt. Serve drizzled with good olive oil, dusted w/ paprika.
Used Vitamix. Sticky mess! To get remainder of thick hummus out of mixer, make it thicker than desired and add water to what is left in blender. Blend, then stir the slurry into bowl of hummus.

Very nice recipe. Here's what makes it fabulous: when you're doing your food processing, add about a third of the lemon skin. Maybe cut it up a little and throw it in. You can't imagine the lovely lemony brightness this gives to plain old hummus. One other thing: if you have some, think about using sumac as your principal spice. Paprika is really good, but sumac is even better.

I made the tahini first in the Vitamix. Add enough lightly toasted sesame seeds to cover the blade and enough EVOO to make a nice paste. Then add the juice of 2 fat Meyer lemons, sliced garlic, salt & pepper to taste, and roasted cumin seeds. When it is a creamy texture. add the cooked chick peas a little at a time; maintain creamy texture and keep tasting. Add more lemon, salt & pepper as you see fit. For chick peas: soak it overnight and then cook it in a rice cooker: almost no effort.

The taste is even better if you use fresh chickpeas. Let them soak in clean water for 10-12 hours. Cook them in a lot of boiling water for 30-40 minutes before proceeding to the hummus recipe. Enjoy…

This is a delicious, basic hummus. It couldn't be simpler. The hardest part is stirring the can of tahini paste the mix the oil with the solids. Fortunately once you get that done, you don't have to do it again!

This recipe is very much like my late mother's and also Claudia Roden. I've been making hummus for years. Always beats the store-bought. I top it with parsley, ground sumac and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Try adding in some Piquillo red peppers for a change-up.

If you're retired and obsessive...use the baking soda trick to loosen the skins www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/03/do-you-remove-chickpea-skins.html

so much silkier

Very good. I zested the lemon before squeezing it, used half the zest in the purée and half as an additional garnish. Very pretty and tasty.

The brand of tahini is critical for good hummus. I recommend the Joyva or Krinos brands. The health food store brands are too bland for my taste.

To up the flavour, toast your cumin seeds for a few minutes in a dry skillet until darkened and they smell gorgeous. Grind (or crush with your fingers)—this is a gorgeous addition to hummus (and garlic yogurt for that matter). Finish off with a sprinkling of smoked paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. Not authentic but amazing. And seriously once you have tried toasted cumin seeds, you won’t go back to cumin powder as an uncooked flavour.

I agree! I usually use canned organic chickpeas and the skins slip off with a light pinch. When I cook my own dried chickpeas, it takes a little more effort, but some baking soda in the water makes them more "slippy."
I think it's a perfect task while you catch up with a friend on the phone (ear buds, speaker, or bluetooth ear-thingy obviously!) or watch TV. Once you've done it once or twice, you can do it completely by feel. I find it meditative.