CREAMY CREAMY HUMMUS

When I went to the small deli next to our place to pick up some tahini, I also picked up a can of chickpeas to make hummus. I had just bought an immersion blender, and I was so excited to try it out! I asked the man behind the counter what was the best way to make hummus, and he said canned was okay, but never as good as soaking dry beans overnight and then boiling them and shelling them yourself. I didn’t even know chickpeas had skins until then. So I guess what he was saying is, the more effort the better the taste. Well, I promptly put the can of chickpeas back down and grabbed a 2kg bag of dry chickpeas and have been experimenting ever since. But, soaking, boiling and shelling each individual chickpea is a lot of work. And it leaves your kitchen a mess and your fingers very pruny.

After some trial and error I have found canned chickpeas are good, but chunky.

Soaking, boiling and shelling dry chickpeas create a silky velvet cream but it’s a ton of work.

Soaking, boiling and not-shelling dry chickpeas are very similar to canned chickpeas but more work than just buying a can, so why?

But soaking, boiling the shit out of the chickpeas with baking soda (I think this is an Ottolenghi method) until they literally fall apart and become a mushy mess, gives you almost the same consistency of shelling them without having to! So this isn’t quite a recipe as much as a technique.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT?

• Immersion blender or food processor

INGREDIENTS - DAY 1

• Dried chickpeas

• Water, at least 3 to 4 times as much as the chickpeas

INSTRUCTIONS - DAY 1

• Soak the dried chickpeas in plenty of water overnight, I leave mine in the fridge in tupper-ware

INGREDIENTS - DAY 2

• Soaked chickpeas

• Baking soda

• Lemon - go ahead and have it juiced and ready on the side.

• Garlic - go ahead and have at least half a head peeled and ready on the side, so you can add as needed.

• Cold water

• Salt

• Tahini

INSTRUCTIONS - DAY 2

• Drain and rinse the overnight chickpeas

• Add them to a big pot of water with a big pinch of baking soda and bigger pinch of salt. Boil on medium high until it hits a hard boil, then take it down to medium so it simmers

• Keep an eye on it, chickpeas like to foam and bubble up and make a mess when boiling. Keep scraping the foam off

• Just keep boiling and add water as needed if it’s reducing too much, until the water gets very dark and cloudy and there is a lot of debris in the water. This could be anywhere from 15-40 minutes.

• When you can pick one up and it smashes in your fingers with barely any pressure, it’s done. It should be mushy.

• Drain

• Blend the chickpeas, scoop of tahini, lemon, garlic, salt and a little bit of cold water together.

  • Tahini is like a peanut butter made with sesame seed. It has an interesting, not necessarily pleasant taste on its own, but it adds a lot to the hummus.

• Blend until it’s mousse like, adding water as needed. Adjust to taste. Some people like to add a little bit of cumin or paprkia or even olive oil. I like my hummus on the salty side because I’ll be eating it with things that won’t have any salt on them, like carrots and cucumbers, but I don’t add anything else to the actual hummus until I’m plating, and then I’ll drizzle olive oil on top right before serving.

• That’s it, we did it!