Hummus

Hummus is great for so many applications, but it seems—like most other items—to have drastically increased in cost into the ridiculous category. Last I checked, a 10-oz package at the high-end store that I hate, it was about $4.50. Doing a little math, a can of cheap chickpeas cost as low as $1, and a can yields slightly more than 10 oz. Yes, tahini is expensive $8 for 16-oz jar, which yields at least 6 10-oz batches of hummus. Add the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, and you’ve got a maximum of $2.50 in to making a single batch at home, which is more than 20 oz.

Are you making it at home to save money? Nope. But it’s interesting to note how much they’re charging at the store, given that it’s mass produced. Yeah, there’s shipping and other costs, too, but still. WTF are they charging so much for? Anyway, end of rant.

This basic hummus is really good. You could add a lot of flavor by adding some minced peppers, roasted garlic or some smoked cumin. Some sambal oelek would also add a nice, spicy touch. Think of this recipe as just the base for making some really outstanding hummus.

Note that this recipe yielded about 21 oz of hummus, which is a ton of it. Given that it stays good in the refrigerator for only about 5 days, unless you eat a ton of the stuff, either plan on freezing it, or just make half the recipe.

This recipe is based on America’s Test Kitchen’s version.

What you’ll need:

• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
• 0.5t baking soda
• 1T garlic cloves, peeled
• 0.33 cups lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
• 1t table salt
• 0.25t ground cumin, plus extra for garnish (this is not nearly enough. I doubled the amount, and still needed more. Also, use smoked cumin if you have it.)
• 0.5 cups tahini, stirred
• 2T extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1T minced fresh parsley (I skipped this)

What do do:

Combine the chickpeas, baking soda, and 6 cups water in medium saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chickpea skins begin to float to surface and chickpeas are creamy and very soft, 20 to 25 minutes.

While the chickpeas cook, mince the garlic with a press or grater. Measure out 1T and set aside; discard the remainder. Whisk the lemon juice, salt, and reserved garlic in a small bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. Strain the garlic-lemon mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much of the liquid as possible; then discard the solids.

Drain the cooked chickpeas in colander and return them to the saucepan. Fill the saucepan with cold water and gently swish the chickpeas with your fingers to release their skins. Pour off most of the water into a colander to collect skins, leaving chickpeas behind in saucepan. Repeat until all the skins are removed. Drain the chickpeas in a colander.

Set aside 2T of whole chickpeas for garnish (very optional). Process the garlic-lemon mixture, ¼ cup water, cumin, and remaining chickpeas in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add the tahini and oil and process until the hummus is smooth, creamy, and light, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Hummus should have pourable consistency similar to yogurt. If too thick, loosen with water, adding 1t at a time). Season with salt and extra lemon juice to taste.

Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley, reserved chickpeas, and extra cumin. Drizzle with extra oil and serve. 

Hummus can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 5 days. Let it sit, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.