I am a basic hummus fangirl. I love it in a borderline obsessive way. And we have a lot of recipes for various hummuses–we have a great basic recipe in our first cookbook, we have roasted red pepper hummus, we have black bean hummus, edamame hummus. If you can hummus it, chances are we’ve done it. Or thought about it.
But we don’t have a great basic recipe for hummus on the blog. I’ve had Jerusalem: A Cookbook sitting on my bookshelf for a few years. It has such rave reviews that I figured if I was going to find the dreamiest hummus recipe, that would be a great starting point. And it didn’t disappoint. A few notes on the recipe:
- You’re cooking dried chickpeas instead of using canned chickpeas. The process isn’t terrible, especially if you have an Instant Pot. I think this helps a lot with the creamy consistency of the hummus, but if it’s between canned chickpea hummus and no hummus, go for the canned chickpeas. P.S. Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same thing.
- This calls for 1 whole cup of tahini (sesame seed paste), which is a lot. I recommend starting with 3/4 cup and then adding more if you want a bolder flavor.
- You want the water to be ice cold–measure out about 1/2 cup cold water, then add some ice cubes and then add enough water at the end to get a creamy, easily spreadable consistency, more like fluffy buttercream frosting than thick, pasty hummus.
- I’ve made this in my blender (Blendtec, so a good one) and I’ve made it in my food processor. If at all possible, use a food processor.
- Flavored olive oils are a great way to mix up the flavors–I use the garlic olive oil from our shop, but chili, lemon, rosemary, and basil would all also be super delicious.
You’re going to need tahini (sesame seed paste; check for it in the kosher foods section), lemon juice, garlic, and dry chickpeas (like, purchased from the dry bean area of the grocery store–I can’t find them at Walmart, but I was able to find them at Kroger. If you make it with canned chickpeas, you’ll need between 3 1/2-4 cups of drained chickpeas).
Rinse and sort the chickpeas and then cook them.
To cook in an electric pressure cooker, place rinsed chickpeas in the pressure cooker,
add water,
and cook for 35 minutes. Drain and rinse.
To cook on the stovetop, cover the chickpeas with 2-3 inches of cold water and soak overnight. The next day, drain the chickpeas. Place a medium saucepan over high heat on the stove and add the chickpeas and baking soda. Cook for 3 minutes, then add water and bring to a boil. Cook for 20-40 minutes or until the chickpeas are very tender (but not mushy), stirring frequently and skimming the foam and skins off the top. Drain the chickpeas.
Place the chickpeas in a food processor and process until smooth and pasty. With the machine running, add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, kosher salt, and finally the ice water and process until the hummus is completely smooth and creamy (think like fluffy buttercream frosting.)
Allow to stand 30 minutes before serving. If refrigerating for future use, allow it to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first. To serve, spread a layer onto a plate or shallow bowl and drizzle with olive oil (I used our garlic olive oil) and, if desired, additional garnishes (like chopped olives, roasted red peppers, chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts, etc.) Serve with warm flatbread or pita, your favorite veggies, pretzel or pita chips, or your finger (let’s be real here.)
Basic Hummus
Description
The lightest, creamiest, most flavorful hummus ever!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups DRY (not canned) chickpeas/garbanzo beans
- 5–6 1/4 cups water (see instructions)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (depending on cooking method)
- 3/4–1 cup tahini (if you love tahini, go for the whole cup, if you’re iffy on it, stick with 3/4 cup; you can always add more later if you decide to)
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6–7 tablespoons ice water
- coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse and sort the chickpeas and then cook them.
- To cook in an electric pressure cooker, place rinsed chickpeas in the pressure cooker, add 5 cups water, and cook for 35 minutes.
- To cook on the stovetop, cover the chickpeas with 2-3 inches of cold water and soak overnight. The next day, drain the chickpeas. Place a medium saucepan over high heat on the stove and add the chickpeas and baking soda. Cook for 3 minutes, then add 6 1/4 cups water and bring to a boil. Cook for 20-40 minutes or until the chickpeas are very tender (but not mushy), stirring frequently and skimming the foam and skins off the top.
- Place the chickpeas in a food processor and process until smooth and pasty. With the machine running, add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, and finally the ice water and process until the hummus is completely smooth and creamy (think like fluffy buttercream frosting.)
- Allow to stand 30 minutes before serving. If refrigerating for future use, allow it to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first. To serve, spread a layer onto a plate or shallow bowl and drizzle with olive oil (I used our garlic olive oil) and, if desired, additional garnishes (like chopped olives, roasted red peppers, chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts, etc.) Top with coarse salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
*Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.
