home made hummus [Recipes]

2010 Jun 28
I could have sworn there was a thread on this before but I searched the forums and turned up nothing - even with a google search.

What's your favorite recipe for hummus? I've never made it before but want to give it a whirl.

2010 Jun 28
hummus is one of those things i think needs no recipe. it is all up to personal taste. i just throw stuff in the food processor depending on how much time i have to make it.

if in a hurry, i use canned chickpeas, a generous spoonful of tahini (natural peanut butter works in a flash), garlic (to taste, usually a few cloves), a squeeze of lemon and then thin with water while the food processor is running. season with a little salt & pepper.

if i want to tame the garlic flavour (raw garlic can be irritating to some stomachs), i roast the garlic first and then use an entire bud. i really like it this way, but it takes a while to roast the garlic.

if i want it really creamy (hummus from canned chickpeas always seem a bit rough in the mouth to me), i soak and cook dried chickpeas. this makes the smoothest hummus, but i don't always plan far enough ahead to do this.

i have also skipped the food processor and used a potato masher instead.

2010 Jun 28
An entire "bud"? Whoa, that's some wacky hummus you've got going on there HFF ;)

Mine is pretty much 3 cups of chick peas, juice of 1 lemon, varying amounts of garlic (to personal taste), tahini (again, to personal taste, but I usually put about 2-3 tbsp in), salt (1 tsp), water & olive oil to desired consistency. Sometimes I'll add cayenne or garnish with hot paprika & really good x.virgin olive oil, parsley and roasted pine nuts go well with it. Roasted ground cumin also adds an interesting flavour if you want a different variation (this is not traditional).

2010 Jun 28
Good start so far - thanks folks! I realise it is not a strict recipe sort of thing, but at this point I do not even know what to toss in there. Well, I do now I guess :-)

I canned up a bunch of chick peas last night but also set some to soak thinking that I'd try both ways to see which I like best. I was thinking that the soaked ones would be better for you because they are basically sprouted grains. Right now they are soft enough they seem, but I'm wondering if there is any advantage to letting them soak longer. So far it has been maybe 12 hours.

2010 Jun 28
chimichimi - oops. i meant a whole garlic bulb (roasting it shrinks it down and softens the flavour so much you can use a lot of it). if you want to put buds in your hummus, that would be a different recipe...

zym - i find dried chickpeas to take a long time to soften enough for a smooth hummus. i've put them to soak at before dinner, and then made the hummus at dinner the next night, so almost 20 hour soak, plus cooking them down.

2010 Jun 28
Oh, you have to cook this stuff? I thought it was just food processor?

2010 Jun 28
I've only ever used a food processor.

I've tried the "Looney Spoons" recipe and was quite pleased with it (white navy beans). I've toyed around with this one a few ways and really enjoyed it. Roasted garlic, roasted red pepper, extra lemon, etc).

2010 Jun 28
if i use dried chickpeas i soak and then cook them.

i have used this recipe before - found the tahini ratio was way too high. it does show directions for using dried chickpeas though:
(from smittenkitchen smittenkitchen.com)

Paula Wolfert’s Hummus

Makes 4 cups

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, and more to taste
Cayenne, hot Hungarian paprika or za’atar
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Rinse the soaked chickpeas well and drain them before putting them in a saucepan and covering them with plenty of fresh water. Bring to a boil; skim, add one-half teaspoon salt, cover and cook over medium heat, about 1 1/2 hours, until the chickpeas are very soft (you might need to add more water).

2. Meanwhile, crush the garlic and one-half teaspoon salt in a mortar until pureed. Transfer the puree to the work bowl of a food processor, add the sesame seed paste and lemon juice and process until white and contracted. Add one-half cup water and process until completely smooth.

3. Drain the chickpeas, reserving their cooking liquid. Add the chickpeas to the sesame paste mixture and process until well-blended. For a smoother texture, press the mixture through the fine blade of a food mill. Thin to desired consistency with reserved chickpea liquid. Adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. The hummus can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.) Serve, sprinkled with paprika (or za’atar) and parsley and drizzled with oil.

2010 Jun 28
The easiest recipe I know comes from Epicure Selections. They have a fabulous Hummus spice blend that makes it really tasty and easy. No preservatives or other additives. YOu can get the recipe online at www.epicureselections.com and there are recipe groups on yahoo.ca

You can order the products online or thru an independent consultant. I'm a rep if you need one.

2010 Jun 28
ok, so i had to go see what a hummus spice mix was. ingredient list is: herbs, garlic and black pepper. all for the price of $7.95.

or you could buy garlic, ground some black pepper you have in the cupboard and toss in your own herbs. i don't see how the spice mix is going to save you time and it certainly won't save you money.

2010 Jun 28
we use the spice blend in all kinds of cooking, not just for making hummus, so it serves an endless number of purposes. You only need to use a tiny amount to get incredible flavour so ounce for ounce our products are considerably less expensive than any other commercial product.

Lots of folks are looking for easy, one stop spice blends as they don't keep a wide array of dried or fresh spices/garlic in the house. And compared to other commercial products, we don't use any preservatives, added MSG, or other unnecessary additives.

Anywho ... I was simply offering an option ... there are all sorts of foodies ... those that can turn anything in the fridge or cupboard into a gourmet meal, and those who love to eat, but aren't as good at making it for themselves.

:-)

2010 Jun 28
can always make your own tahini too. just put some sesame seeds in food processor with oil/water and blend....you can use extra oil/water since you will need some anyways to puree the chickpeas, so it is alright if the tahini is super runny/loose. cumin is delicious in hummus. Maybe toast the sesame seeds as well to give a different flavour.

2010 Jun 28
Would sunflower seeds work instead of sesame?

I've got shitloads of those! :-) About 4kg of organic, unsalted.

2010 Jun 28
you could use sunflower seeds, make them into a butter. you might need to add a little oil to thin it.

are they in the shell? that might be annoying to shell them first.

also, shelled sunflower seeds are great on salad, or toasted and sprinkled on soup.

2010 Jun 28
Nope, no shells. Thanks.

2010 Jun 28
I love hummus and have made it for years. I guess my favourite is my house hummus, made with 1 or 2 or ... cloves fresh garlic, a 19 oz. tin chickpeas, rinsed well and drained, 1/2 tsp ground cumin (or more), 1/2 tsp salt (or more), about 2 Tbs tahini, about 3 Tbs sesame oil, (clear, not dark, toasted, Asian sesame oil), or possibly olive oil in a pinch, sometimes 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, a 1/2 lemon, juiced (plus more, to thin and to taste), and 2 pitted Kalamata olives.

When using canned chickpeas if you want a smoother hummus drain and rinse the chickpeas, pour into a bowl and cover with boiling water - leave for 10 min. then drain, then slip the skin off of each and every chickpea, not something I do very often as I like the added texture of the skins and they must add something, like fibre, to the nutrition profile.

My next fave is this lovely Indian-style recipe from "the rebar cookbook", also loved by many who have eaten it and asked for the recipe.

Bombay Hummus

1/4 c. canola oil
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 540 ml can chickpeas
1/4 c. cashews, roasted
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t salt
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t cracked pepper
1/4 t cayenne
pinch turmeric
pinch cinnamon
2 T chopped cilantro
2 T chopped mint

Gently heat the oil and ginger in a small saucepan. Let the ginger sizzle, but not brown. After about 10 mins, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Combine all ingredients (including ginger and oil) in a food processor or blender, and pulse to blend. Blend to a rough purée and season to taste. Ideally, let it sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before adjusting the seasoning, since the flavours will develop over time. Serve cold or at room temp with whole wheat pita.

Andy’s notes: Don’t heat the oil too much before adding the ginger (add 1 piece of ginger to oil when starting and add the rest when it just starts to sizzle and turn heat down as necessary - keep the ginger bubbling away GENTLY so it doesn’t brown. When it’s time to remove the ginger from the heat I add, at once, all of the spices (mix them in a small bowl first) and the minced garlic and cook them for 15 to 30 seconds while stirring before removing from heat and cooling a bit. Don’t be afraid to add more or less of each of the spices (and herbs) as you see fit. Add water (and/or more lime juice, tasting for balance) to thin the hummus to desired consistency.

As I like to collect and try hummus recipes I did a google search and found some sunflower hummus recipes online, zym. THanks for the idea.

2010 Jun 29
Can anyone comment on the dried chickpeas vs canned?

Obviously dried are cheaper but take some advanced planning.

Canned are convenient (sp?)

I have a friend who will only use dried and he says you need to get the skins off them as well??

Anyone? Bueller?

2010 Jun 29
Canned are convenient but also passively increase the sodium in your hummus, the texture is also a little different. For ease of production, canned is my go-to.

2010 Jun 29
I like to throw in a some roasted red peppers and a splash of red wine vinegar in my hummus - along with the rest of the traditional ingredients noted above.

2010 Jun 29
I have had great success with this one from Cooks.3 tablespoons juice from 1 to 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons tahini , stirred well (see note)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for drizzling
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas , drained and rinsed (see note)
1 small garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine lemon juice and water in small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together tahini and 2 tablespoons oil in second small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside 2 tablespoons chickpeas for garnish.

2. Process remaining chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add oil-tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved chickpeas and cilantro over surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.