Hummus Update – Lighter, Smoother, Tastier

Hummus Update – Join the Hummus Celebration on May 13

Rarely a day goes by without hummus in our refrigerator. Hummus, both “plain” and “fancy” (with preserved lemon or garlic scapes), is my comfort food. Perfect for quick energy straight from a spoon. Perfect as a snack, breakfast, lunch and dinner wrapped in a lettuce leaf with a slice of avocado. Perfect for entertaining drizzled with a swirl of good olive oil and an array of colorful fresh vegetables. Today’s hummus update recipe makes hummus lighter, smoother and tastier than ever before.

International Hummus Day
It’s true. There is such a thing as International Hummus Day. Make some hummus and prepare to celebrate on Friday, May 13. According to the International Hummus Day webpage, everyone can participate. It’s easy. All you need to do is eat hummus on May 13^th for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 🙂 I’m in. Are you?

Hummus update from good to great
Over the last couple of years, Chefs Michael Solomonov and Yotam Ottolenghi have taken hummus from good to great and even to glamorous. Many others are following their lead, creating something of a hummus revolution in the U.S. I’ve been listening and reading, and now incorporate a couple of their tips in my own hummus update.

I’ve shared my love of hummus with you before. Though with International Hummus Day this Friday, it’s the perfect time to share a hummus update with you. My previous hummus recipe is/was good. With these new tips, it’s become great.

Four tips for lighter, smoother, tastier hummus
And yes, it’s possible my hummus would be even better if I cooked my own chickpeas. Someday I will. In the meantime, I’m using canned, organic chickpeas, and here’s how.

1. If you use canned chickpeas, make sure they are organic. And make sure they have only 3 ingredients: chickpeas (garbanzos), water and salt.
2. Cook the canned chickpeas with their liquid until the chickpeas are very tender and beginning to fall apart. Drain the chickpeas, saving the liquid.
3. Here’s where your love of hummus really comes into play. For the smoothest hummus, remove the skin from at least 1/4^th of the chickpeas. For even smoother hummus, remove the skin from more of the chickpeas when you have the time and the patience.
4. Follow Chef Michael Solomonov’s lead and use Soom Tahini. So fresh and flavorful and unlike any tahini I’ve ever tasted.

Tulips saved from the snow
Hope you enjoy this photo of the last of our spring tulips. In spite of finding them yesterday smashed under the weight of almost two inches of snow, they still look rather spectacular.

Hummus Update . . . Lighter, Smoother, Tastier

Preparing the hummus from your still warm chickpeas results in a most delicious treat. Chef Michael Solomonov’s hummisiya Disengoff prepares fresh batches of hummus all day. They serve their incredibly rich and smooth hummus warm and never refrigerate it. For the rest of us, we usually make a batch to last the week. Fortunately, although the hummus thickens a little when refrigerated, it remains delicious even after a sit in the fridge. Hummus is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all times in between.

Thank you, Chefs Solomonov and Ottolenghi, for inspiring this Hummus Update.

Makes 3½ cups                                                        Printer-Friendly Recipe
Total time: 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how many or how few chickpeas you peel

Ingredients

2 15-ounce cans (3 cups) organic chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 large clove peeled garlic, or more to taste
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Scant ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
12 twists freshly ground pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup drained liquid from cooking the chickpeas
3 tablespoons tahini, preferably Soom Tahini
½ cup tightly packed cilantro

Instructions

1. Empty the canned chickpeas with their liquid into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high. Continue to cook the chickpeas at a vigorous simmer until they are very tender and beginning to fall apart, 10-12 minutes. Stirring the chickpeas occasionally helps release the skin.
2. While the chickpeas are cooking, mince the garlic by dropping it down the chute of a running food processor. When minced, use a rubber spatula to remove the garlic from the sides of the work bowl. Add the lemon juice.
3. Drain the chickpeas, saving the liquid.
4. Here’s where your love of hummus really comes into play. For the smoothest hummus, remove the skin from at least 1/4^th of the chickpeas by lightly rubbing them between your fingers. For even smoother hummus, remove the skin from more of the chickpeas when you have the time and the patience.
5. Put the cooked chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients, except for the cilantro, into the food processor. Process the hummus for 4 minutes, scraping the sides of the work bowl once or twice to incorporate everything.
6. Add the cilantro. Process for another minute.
7. Adjust the salt to taste. Add a tablespoon or two of additional reserved liquid or cold water for a softer hummus. Note: the hummus will thicken once refrigerated.
8. Spoon the hummus into a shallow soup bowl or onto a plate to serve. Use the back of a spoon to create a wide well in the center. Drizzle with a swirl of good olive oil and toppings of your choice. Such as a sprinkling of sumac, smoked Spanish paprika or za’atar, fresh cucumber tomato salad, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, roasted chickpeas, etc.
9. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Printer-Friendly Recipe.