Not sweet+side meal

Hummus

Prep Time: 40 min / Cook Time: 10 min / Total Time: 50 min

Which is your best hummus? My - is lusciously creamy, yet somehow light and fluffy. It’s beautifully smooth and swirled, and begging to be scooped up onto a wedge of pita bread. It’s nutty and tangy, thanks to the tahini, with notes of bright, fresh lemon and mellow garlic.

Author and photographs: Olga

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What is hummus?

Most everyone knows hummus. It’s the quintessential Middle Eastern dip made by blending chickpeas with tahini, garlic, and citrus.

I didn't grow up in a country, where hummus is on every table. But I'm convinced that this simple beige dip is some of the best stuff on earth! Creamy, satisfying, and packed with plant-based protein.

Hummus

Yield: 6 portions

Ingredients

Hummus

200 gr. boiled chickpeas
60-70 gr. lemon juice (juice of 1-1.5 lemons)
2 garlic cloves
3/4 tsp sea salt
100 gr. tahini
3-4 tbsp cold (boiled or purified) water
1 tbsp quality olive oil + for serving
3-4 small hot peppers (optional)
pepper flakes for serving
1/2 tsp cumin (I didn't add this time)

Instructions

To boil hummus To boil hummus until soft, there are a couple of secrets that a Palestinian Ukrainian woman shared with me 😅 (Yes, such a symbiosis in the family).

Dry chickpeas need to be filled with water overnight (4 times more than chickpeas). Add to COLD water 2 tbsp. baking soda, stir until soda dissolves, add dry chickpeas and leave. Wash the chickpeas in cold water in the morning. Transfer our chickpeas to a small saucepan, pour it so that the water only covers the chickpeas, bring to a boil and cook ON A SMALL heating already - 10 minutes, then add water - so that it covers the chickpeas again and cook for another 10 minutes, and another 10 minutes. Within 30 minutes, your chickpeas should be so soft that you can EASILY crush them between your fingers. If not, boil for another 10 minutes.

The texture of hummus close-up. The texture of hummus close-up.

If you decide to go the easy way and take already cooked boiled chickpeas - let's continue from here!

Place the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, salt, and olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth. If the mass turned out to be thick, add a little cold boiled water.

Now you can add spices. In the classic version, hummus is prepared with cumin. Today I decided not to add cumin and chose very hot peppers (trust me - they are just🔥🔥🔥) That's actually all. Before serving, you can decorate the hummus with quality olive oil, large red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs.