Homemade hummus — dried chickpeas, tahini and lemon
Hummus as served in Jaffa's hummus shops: chickpeas cooked until they crush between two fingers, blended while still hot with plenty of tahini, lemon and ice cubes, and served warm with a drizzle of olive oil, warm pita, raw onion and green chilli relish.
Ingredients for two
| 240 g | Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin) 1 x 400 g tin, yielding 240 g drained and rinsed chickpeas, equivalent to the 230 g cooked chickpeas in the standard version |
| 2.5 g | Bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp, for cooking only |
| 110 g | Tahini (raw sesame paste) 7 heaped tbsp, 100% sesame (Al Arz or Har Bracha); it makes the hummus, so be generous |
| 120 g | Lemon 1 lemon: juice of one half (2 tbsp) for the hummus; the other half for the harif and a wedge for serving |
| 5 g | Garlic 1 clove, central shoot removed |
| 3 g | Fine salt 1/2 tsp: tinned chickpeas are already salted; adjust at the end |
| 1 g | Ground cumin 1/4 tsp (optional) |
| 120 g | Water 4 ice cubes (about 100 g), then ice-cold water a spoonful at a time if the hummus is still too thick; excludes soaking and cooking water (about 2 litres tap water, reserving a small glass) |
| 20 g | Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp, to serve |
| 1 g | Sweet paprika a pinch, to serve |
| 10 g | Flat-leaf parsley a few sprigs, finely chopped |
| 80 g | Pita breads 1 pita, cut into quarters, for two; use 2 pitas if serving hummus as a main meal |
| 15 g | Hot green chillies 1 green chilli, finely chopped with 1 tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt, for the harif relish (optional) |
| 60 g | Yellow onions 1/2 onion, cut into wedges and served raw, as in a hummus shop (optional) |
Method
- Drain and rinse the tinned chickpeas. Put in a medium saucepan (2–3 litres), cover with 1 litre cold water and add the bicarbonate of soda (1/2 tsp). Bring to the boil, then simmer for 8–10 minutes until very soft and the skins come away; remove the skins with a slotted spoon. Without this step, hummus made with tinned chickpeas stays grainy.
- Meanwhile, blend the tahini, juice of half a lemon, crushed garlic and salt in the food processor for 1 minute, until thick and pale. Use only 3 g salt, as the tinned chickpeas are already salted. Prepare the harif from finely chopped green chilli, a pinch of salt and the juice of a lemon wedge, and prepare the onion and lemon wedges. Check the ice cubes in the freezer without taking them out.
- Drain the hot chickpeas in a colander set over a bowl, reserving a small glass of cooking water and 1 tbsp whole chickpeas. Add the rest to the tahini mixture with the cumin and blend for 2 minutes with the centre cap removed from the lid. Now take out the ice cubes. With the motor running, add them one by one, followed by spoonfuls of ice-cold water. Blend for another 3 minutes until smooth and pale. Taste and adjust the salt or lemon; if still too stiff, add a spoonful of hot cooking water.
- Serve warm, with 2 generous spoonfuls in each shallow bowl and a groove made with the back of a spoon. Add the olive oil to the groove, then the whole chickpeas, paprika and parsley. Serve with pita warmed in a dry frying pan for 1 minute on each side and cut into quarters, with the onion wedges, lemon and dish of harif alongside. Refrigerate the remaining hummus for lunch the next day.
The same hummus in 25 minutes using ONE tin of chickpeas, 240 g drained, equivalent to the 230 g cooked chickpeas in the standard version, with the same amount of tahini. Simmering for 10 minutes with bicarbonate of soda comes close to the flavour of dried chickpeas. Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and less salt are enough here.
Lighter version
- Extra virgin olive oil : 10 g
- Pita breads : removed
- add Cucumbers 120 g (1 Israeli cucumber, cut into sticks)
- add Carrots 90 g (1 carrot, peeled and cut into sticks)
In step 6, replace the pita with the cucumber and carrot cut into 8 cm sticks, arranged around the hummus. Drizzle just 1 tbsp oil into the groove.
Keep the hummus itself unchanged, replace the pita with raw vegetables and halve the oil.
On your plate
Recipe
729 kcal · protein 24 g · carbs 57 g · fat 43 g
Quantities per person
- 50 g Dried chickpeas
- 2.5 g Bicarbonate of soda
- 55 g Tahini (raw sesame paste)
- 60 g Lemon
- 2.5 g Garlic
- 2.5 g Fine salt
- 0.5 g Ground cumin
- 60 g Water
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 0.5 g Sweet paprika
- 5 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 40 g Pita breads
- 7.5 g Hot green chillies
- 30 g Yellow onions
Cooking tips
This makes two starters and two lunches. Hummus keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for 4 days. Take it out 30 minutes before serving, loosen with a spoonful of water and beat with a fork to restore its texture. Serve leftovers the next day with a hard-boiled egg and pickles, or in a rolled pita. Doubling the batch for a crowd takes the same effort. Soak the chickpeas the evening before for 12 hours; this is not included in the stated time. Without soaking, allow 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. For masabacha, keep a generous third of the chickpeas whole and hot and spoon over the hummus with lemon juice, cumin and a little of the cooking water reserved in step 4.
Hummus from Israel's hummus shops, including Abu Hassan in Jaffa and Lina in Jerusalem, using the bicarbonate-of-soda and ice-cube method.
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