As you already may know, hummus is a  dip (spread) that is known worldwide, originated in the Middle Eastern cuisine. It can be served  garnish in different manners: with roasted pine nuts and olive oil, caramelized onions, sumac, ground spicy meet.

The basic ingredients for hummus are: chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste), garlic, lemon juice, olive oil  and salt. It is also a very healthy dish: is rich in iron, vitamin C, Vitamin B6 , a good source of protein and dietary fibers.

If is the first time you try to make homemade hummus I assure you that you won’t be sorry at all. The taste is much, much better than any hummus you’ve eat at the restaurant or buy in a can.

For 6 servings you need:

• 250 gr. chickpeas;
• 1-2 tbs of tahini (sesame past);
• 2tbs olive oil;
• juice of 1 lemon;
• 5-6 garlic cloves.

First, a night before, you have to soak the chickpeas in water. Place the chickpeas in a bowl, cover with water and leave to stand for 12 hours. Of course, if you are in a rush you can always use chickpeas from the can (already soaked).

First, soak the chickpeas over night

Drain the water, rinse the beans, put them in a pot add water just to cover it by 2 fingers,  then place the pot over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed, drain the water and rinse again. Fill the pot with water and rub the beans with your both hands. This will help peel off the husk from the beans ( and it will be much easy to your digestion).

Get rid of the husk

Chickpeas without the husk

Put the beans back to the pot, add water just to cover it by 2 fingers and boil for another 20 to 30 minutes – until the beans are soft. Drain the water but keep about 4 tablespoons. Let it cool for half hour.

Now the hard part is passed, it’s time to use your food processor. So put the chickpeas, the 4 tbs of water (in which you boil the chickpeas), 2 tbs of olive oil, the sesame paste (tahini), the garlic cloves crushed and salt to taste. Turn it on and transform all the ingredients into a thick puree. Transfer the puree to a bowl and using a wooden spoon stir continuously while adding the lemon juice little by little.

Chickpeas ready to transform… into hummus

After a short spin with just the water I added the garlic, tahini and olive oil

This is how it should look

Divide the hummus dip into two serving plates. Using a teaspoon draw a circle in the middle of the plate (just like you see in the pictures below). Pour a little olive oil in that circle and sprinkle a little sumac or paprika from place to place.

Here are my two serving plates

My hummus close up

Another hummus close-up

And to be complete it’s best to eat with Lebanese pita, for which I’ll post a recipe the next days.

Enjoy,
It will definitely be the best hummus you’ve ever tried!