Homemade Hummus Made with Dried Chickpeas

This dish already is thousands of years old. When I traveled through Middle East I have tried hummus from street food carts and in fancy restaurants. Each hummus master would tell you a story of his unique recipe passed from generation to generation, but he would not reveal the recipe to anyone, of course.

If hummus is made correctly, it is very pleasant and even addictive vegetarian dish. Some people say it helps to lower cholesterol. Hummus should never be cooked using canned chickpeas. Cooked chickpeas must be thoroughly peeled before use. Olive oil quality is crucial for hummus. If you’ve got a bottle of fancy olive oil and decided to make your own hummus, this would be a good reason to open it.



Note: Great information can be found here and here for cooking chickpeas and making a fabulous hummus.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp pink himalayan salt
• 1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
• freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup liquid from cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (I use “The Ancient Olive” oils)
• 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

For garnish:

• sesame seeds 
• zahter mixture
• fresh herbs 
• extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Put chickpeas in a bowl, add water and soak in cool place for 12 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse well.

Place chickpeas in a saucepan with fresh water to cover. Bring to boil, cover and cook over low heat for about 1 hour. Drain, and reserve some cooking liquid. Place the chickpeas immediately in ice cold water, that way it's easy to peel them. Yes my dear readers, the next step is peeling the chickpeas. If you remove the skins from the chickpeas before you grind them you get a much better creamy texture. It takes a few extra minutes, but it is so worth it.

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Adjust flavor and consistency with cooking liquid, and add salt if necessary. Hummus should be thick and smooth ( I like my little grainy).

Spread puree in a shallow serving dish, swirling with back of a spoon. Drizzle olive oil in center and garnish with paprika, sesame seeds and herbs. Serve with a homemade pita bread ( I have a perfect recipe).