Among certain friends and family, I’m known for making a mean hummus. For a long time it was my go-to item to bring to a party or potluck, and I was often asked for my recipe. I’ve always been happy to share, but I recently discovered a trick to make it even better.
My secret? Using dried chickpeas instead of canned makes the dip much creamier. It’s a little extra work, but it’s so worth it. Plus, it’s easier to control the amount of salt. Here’s my recipe.
To prepare the chickpeas/garbanzo beans:
Place 2 cups of dried chickpeas in a pot and cover with plenty of water. Allow to soak overnight/12 hours.
Drain the water, rinse the beans, and add enough water that the beans are covered by a few inches.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt. (Don’t skip the baking soda! Without it your beans won’t cook properly.)
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the chickpeas are soft. Mine only take about 90 minutes to cook, but I’ve seen recommendations to cook them for 2 to 3 hours. (I haven’t tried it yet, but supposedly you can even cook them in a crockpot.)
Drain the cooked chickpeas, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water.
Allow to cool completely before processing.
2 cups of dried beans will result in about 4 cups of cooked beans. Unless you’re making a ton of hummus, you can freeze the second half of the beans to have on hand for the next time you want to make hummus.
Hummus
2 cups cooked chickpeas plus reserved cooking water (see above)
2 lemons, juiced
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup tahini
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cumin
Paprika, additional olive oil, additional whole chickpeas, for garnish
Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, olive oil, and salt in a food processor and process until smooth. If the hummus is too thick, add small amounts of the cooking water to thin it to the desired consistency.
Garnish with paprika, drizzled olive oil, and a few whole chickpeas.
Serve with cut vegetables, pita bread or chips, or crackers (lately I’ve been eating it with my homemade wheat crackers.)
