homemade hummus advice

Elainejk21

I prefer using Trader's Joe's toasted sesame oil instead of tahini (better cost & flavor) but you'll have to experiment with the quantity, you won't need nearly as much.. I attached an example recipe.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/05/chick-pea-and-roasted-pepper-dip.html

Sometimes I shell the chickpeas for a much smoother consistency as well.

KarenJames23

I don't really like hummus with lots of tahini, so here's the recipe my partner came up with (it's VERY lemony, but we love it!):

2 tsp tahini
Juice of one whole lemon
3-4 tsp of olive oil (or less, if you want; he uses garlic oil which is lovely)
1 tsp cumin
A little salt
Water to thin it to whatever consistency you like

SO good! And pretty good calorie wise. I like to use it as a sandwich spread, really filling and healthy, especially when you add a ruck of veggies in with the sandwich too x

msbeeblebrox

http://ohsheglows.com/2010/12/04/the-hummus-that-changed-everything/
This is my favorite hummus recipe.

superfox12082

I grind my own sesame seeds, which is what tahini is made from. If you have a coffee grinder this is easy. I add the powder to my beans, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil until desired consistency. I don't add salt, but that is my personal preference.

tk2222

This is my recipe - it's Israeli (or Palestinian, as your politics may run) so maybe taste will differ a little the way you might be used to it elsewhere. It looks more involved than it is - it's really not very much work, but it just takes forever.

* Tehini shouldn't have salt in it. The ingredients list on your tehini should read, in it's entirety: sesame.
* I always use dried chickpeas, but I guess it works on the same principle with canned, but skip all the chickpea-preparing steps.

1. Wash your chickpeas. Seriously, they get dusty. Give them a good wash in cold water, pick out any dodgy looking ones.

2. Soak them in cold water, enough to cover them. Change the water after a few hours (it'll get yellowish, you'll want to.)

3. Soak at least 18 hours or so, 24 is good too. If it looks like they've soaked up all the water, add more water. You can speed this up a little by adding a teaspoon or so of drinking soda (or, sometimes I use baking powder) but still leave at least overnight.

4. Put the chickpeas in a big pot with enough water to cover them and then some. I add the garlic - peeled teeth - to the chickpeas at this point. It's also common to add an onion (just a whole onion, peeled of course) to the pot at this point. (Dunno if it really does anything for the flavour, but I've never had the experimental guts to leave it out.)

5. Bring to a boil, and then put the heat very low and leave for about 3-5 hours, until the chickpeas are totally, totally soft, effortlessly squished between fingers. At the beginning of the cooking it'll generate this kind of white foam - gather this up with a spoon and throw it away. During the cooking some of the skins might float up. Some people get rid of them at this point, but it's a fussy procedure and I think they're actually supposed to be good for you. It's mostly a question of texture.

6. Cool the whole thing down, (water, chickpeas, onion and all) and stick in the fridge, overnight or at least until it's totally cold. It'll might be just a little gelatinous. (if you want it hot, skip this step - you get a rather different consistency though.)

7. If you're using canned chickpeas, I guess this is the stage you come in. I think canned chickpeas come pre-cooked.

8. Stick **part** of the chickpeas, garlic and water from the pot in a bowl and mash, or in a blender and blend. Add in lemon juice and tahini gradually, stirring and tasting as you go.

Keep adding in the four ingredients: chickpeas, the water the chickpeas was cooked in, tahini and lemon juice, (and garlic, if you didn't cook it or just want more) until you get a flavour and consistency you like.

Tahini *soaks up water* and gets *less* liquidy as water is added to it, up to a certain point. So if you've added a lot of tahini you're going to need a bit more chickpea-water, etc. A little bit like making dough. It's all about playing with the taste and texture that you want. If you're making a lot, make it in several batches.

9. I usually add in a little salt while i'm doing the mixing, and sometimes cumin. All other spices in hummus (except as toppings) are heresy and that's all I'll say to that. ;-P

10. Wash the pot or it will get really gunky. Throw away the onion.

143tobe

Loving this thread

dklibert

http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/03/honey-roasted-garlic-hummus.html

http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/02/traditional-hummus.html

http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2013/06/smoky-three-pepper-hummus.html

Wasabi Hummus
source: Soup Spice Everything Nice
Makes 2 cups, Serves 16 (2 Tbsp. serving)

Ingredients

15 oz. can garbanzo beans (drained, reserving liquid)
3 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
3 tsp. wasabi, or to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced

Directions

Add can of garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, soy sauce, wasabi, garlic and ginger to the food processor. Blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency (about 4 Tbsp.) Serve with veggies, oven baked wontons, or on sandwiches and wraps.

Garnish with wasabi peas, black sesame seeds, pickled ginger or toasted nori snacks.

Nutritional Information per serving*: Calories 54, Total Fat 2 g, Total Carbohydrate 7 g, Dietary Fiber 1 g, Protein 2 g, Calcium 1 g.

focused4health

"Around 2-3 tbsp cumin...."

Thats a lot of cummin. Hows it taste?:blushing:

focused4health

Me to. Loving it.

zivasak

1 LB cooked garbanzos
2T oilve oil
5 cloves minced garlic
1T fresh lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1T sesame seeds ( didnt have tahini- its just fine with out it)
1t black pepper

mash with potato masher till is smooshed
then put in food proscessor - add about 1/2 c water to help it blend, sometimes more sometimes less

This! I like to sprinkle sesame seeds on top
However I add 1t cumin and use sesame oil instead of olive oil!

I skip the tahini too!

asciiqwerty

bump

andielyn

I'm in hummus heaven with all your posts!! Thanks a bunch! I am so excited to give it a go again this weekend. I'm going to try using my KitchenAid mixer with the regular paddle (since I am blender-less at the moment.)

I'll post my results and what I did differently. I think I may have used too much tahini and not enough other spices. Sticking with the dried beans (I have 1 1/2 bags left ) and the unsalted tahini, but going to roast my garlic this time.

Keep the ideas coming! I'm a woman on a mission to make the best darn homemade hummus!

jfubar13

I like to put some roasted red peppers and garlic in the mix.

ginalovefire

I know how this is going to sound, but throw away every recipe you have for hummus and follow mine. My LEBANESE GRANDMOTHER taught me how to make it. We used to smash everything in a giant mortar and pestle, and then whip the heck out of it to get it nice and smooth. It was a load of work, but it was delicious!!!

We've since tried making it in the blender, in the food processor, in a ninja, in a magic bullet and in a nutri bullet. The best gadget has always been the food processor, hands down. You get a paste that most imitates the back-breaking mortar and pestle version--no grit, gum, goo or chunks.

Note to all: DO NOT use tahini's that are made in America, unless it is made in your own American kitchen. Find a middle eastern store and purchase an imported tahini. My brand of choice is Beirut Tahini. It contains one ingredient: RAW SESAME SEEDS. If you make your own, do not add anything to it at all.

BASIC RECIPE FOR HUMMUS:

Chick Peas: about 3 cups. If you are using canned, use two cans of NO SALT ADDED chick peas, and drain one can only. If you are using dried, cover in UNSALTED water and cook until soft. This takes hours. If you are using raw, COOK THEM until they light and soft. This also takes hours. They must be soft or they will not process correctly and make your hummus nasty. For both the dried and raw options, reserve about 2/3 cup of the cooking water.

I use canned chick peas.

Garlic: Use garlic to taste. If you like garlic, use more garlic. The rule in our home is 2 cloves if you're going out, 4 if you're staying home.

Olive Oil: Because tahini contains a lot of oil, there is no need to add any oil at all. Leave it out.

2-4 cloves of garlic
3 cups chick peas with reserved liquid as described above
1/4 cup tahini
Juice from 1 1/2 lemons
1/8 tsp of kosher salt
a pinch of 7 spice, tumeric or good curry powder to garnish.
water


Start with the garlic. Peel the garlic and remove the foot (the little hard piece of root that attaches the clove to the bulb). Put the garlic in the food processor and pulse it. Scrape the bowl, pulse. Scrape the bowl, pulse.

Add the Chick Peas and reserved water to the processor. Run.

Add the tahini and the lemon juice. If you like more lemon, add more. If you like less, add less. Run.

The hummus should be smooth and fluffy. if not, add two tablespoons of water and run.

Add the salt and pulse a few times. If you're salt restricted, you can omit it, but the flavor will be a little off. An option is 1/8 tsp of corriander.

Transfer to a dish, top with a pinched dusting of 7-spice, tumeric or curry, depending on what you like.


VARIATIONS OF THIS:

BLACK BEANS: replace the chick peas with 3 cups of black beans RINSED, and 2/3 cup plain water. Add about 1/8 cup of cilantro to the recipe, and replace the 1/2 lemon with 1 lime. Add the cilantro after pulsing the garlic. Pulse, scrape, pulse, scrape, pulse. Add 1/4 tsp of cumin along with the salt.

Top with a pinch of corriander, cumin or chopped cilantro.

BABA GHANOUJ: Use the recipe for hummus exactly as above, only replace the chick peas with two medium sized eggplants. To prepare the eggplants: Poke with a fork and broil in the skin, 20 minutes on each side. Let cool until you can touch it, scrape the flesh from the skin. Let cool for a few more minutes, then use the recipe above.

WINTER SQUASH BABA GHANOUJ: Cook the squash in the oven until soft. Scrape out the flesh, add 1/4 tsp 7 spice to the mix with the salt. Works with acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin...

SUMMER SQUASH/ZUCCHINI BABA GHANOUJ: Steam about 2 cups of summer squash or zucchini. You can mix them, as they are beautiful. Don't peel these, as the skin on summer squash gets nice and tender. Make as above.

andielyn

ginalovefire, thanks a bunch for the details on the process! I didn't add olive oil then after everyone posted about the oil I thought that might be the mistake. And I LOVE your garlic rule!

Okay folks, batch two this weekend...

kbeardmore22

bump... absolutely love hummus!!

missigus

I buy my tahini from a Mediterranean foods store, it's imported and I love the flavor, don't know if that makes a difference or not. I also add things like jalapeños, pimentos, sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic.

Brige2269

I never use lemon in mine. But fresh garlic and cumin are key. The basics I use is chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cumin, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. I use canned chickpeas, and hold onto the water they are packed in to use as a thinner instead of plan water so you still have the flavor. I see a lot of great recipes here, good luck and enjoy!

Flab2fitfi

Very interesting post. I was wondering if you can get away without the Tahini (allergies) and so glad that you can. May try and make some at the weekend.

hozik

bump