Hummus

If you’re into trivia, hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea. The full Arabic name of the dish is ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna which literally translates to chickpeas with tahini.

When and where exactly this cold chickpea puree appeared in Middle Eastern cuisine is unclear and there are claims that the earliest versions of this dish did not contain tahini and was seasoned with vinegar rather than lemon juice. What is clear is that hummus started to become popular in America and Europe by the end of the 1990s and, by the first decade of the 21st century, it has become — for lack of a better word — fashionable. The full name was dropped and the dish came to be known simply as hummus.

Hummus

Pureed chickpeas with the amazing nutty flavor and aroma of tahini (sesame seed paste), garlic and lemon juice, serve hummus as a spread or dip for crackers or bread.

A pressure cooker was used to cook the chickpeas in this recipe. A slow cooker will do the job too but the cooking time will be longer.

Cooking the chickpeas on the stovetop? Remember to stir occasionally and to check that the water never dries up during the entire cooking time.

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Soaking and steeping time 1 d

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Servings 2 cups

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Equipment

• Pressure Cooker
• Blender or Food Processor

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup dried chickpeas (I used split chickpeas which cook faster)
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste) (see notes after the recipe)
• salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon grated garlic
• extra virgin olive oil to serve
• chopped parsley to serve (optional)
• paprika to serve (optional)

Instructions

 

• Rinse the chickpeas several times.
• Place the clean chickpeas in a bowl, cover with water and keep in the fridge overnight.
• Pour the chickpeas and soaking water into the pressure cooker.
• Sprinkle with a little salt and check that the water is at least an inch more than the chickpeas.
• Snap on the lid, turn the stove to high and, when the valve starts to turn, set the heat to low.
• Cook the chickpeas for 45 minutes to an hour.
• Drain the chickpeas and cool; reserve the liquid.
  
• Pour the chickpeas into the blender or food processor.
• Add the tahini.
• Process until smooth (see notes after the recipe).
• Pour the pureed chickpeas into a bowl. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Stir. When the balance is right for you, stir in the grated garlic.
• Transfer the hummus with tahini into a jar with a tight cover and keep in the fridge overnight for the flavors to develop.
• To serve, spoon the hummus into a shallow bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with parsley and paprika, and serve with bread, crackers or vegetable sticks.

Notes

About the tahini… There’s Chinese sesame seed paste and there’s Middle Eastern sesame seed paste. The latter is tahini.

Can Chinese sesame seed paste be substituted? I don’t recommend that. Tahini is made from raw unhulled sesame seeds. Chinese sesame seed paste is made from roasted sesame seeds, the color is darker and the flavor is stronger. 

When pureeing the chickpeas, add some of the chickpea cooking liquid, a tablespoonful or so at a time for a smooth puree (that should help the blender’s motor do its job too). Note that your puree can be ultra smooth or a bit coarse, it’s up to you to decide what kind of texture is more appealing.

Updated from a recipe originally published in February 10, 2013

Keyword Chickpea, Dip

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