November 26, 2022, 10:09 am | Read time: 3 minutes
There are still well-kept family secrets. Especially when it comes to cooking, grandma’s recipes are treated as confidentially as state documents. No one wants to reveal the one secret ingredient or the trick that makes the dish perfect. This is also true for hummus, the Middle Eastern specialty. In our “World Dishes,” we delve into the mystery of chickpea puree and reveal how to truly succeed.
Have you ever made hummus, the Middle Eastern chickpea puree? If so, how did it turn out—creamy, hearty, and fresh, just as you imagined? Or did the puree resemble more of a crumbly mass? Hummus is not as easy to make as it seems. It’s especially challenging for those who weren’t born with the gift (and recipe) of their, for example, Israeli, Syrian, or Lebanese grandmother.
Hummus is a puree of chickpeas, lemon, garlic, tahini (a paste made from finely ground sesame seeds), olive oil, pepper, and salt, eaten with pita bread or served as a dip with meat and vegetables. In Israel and the Arab world, it’s a national dish. Up to this point, it’s easy to understand. But when it comes to which chickpeas to use, the ratio of ingredients, and whether and how to soak the legumes to achieve a smooth consistency, it gets complicated. Besides the known ingredients and the usual preparation method (just mix everything together), there are secret ingredients—and consequently, secret preparations.
The Search for the Perfect Hummus Recipe
So we asked around. A hobby cook with Jewish roots, who claims to make the world’s best hummus, was tight-lipped but shared two small tips: don’t use too much garlic, and use organic chickpeas from a jar (not a can), including the water. A colleague we asked only knows how not to do it, and another colleague swears by peeling each chickpea individually and adding baking soda while cooking. There were ingredient tips like lime and yogurt and the suggestion to let it rest for two hours. Even websites list the biggest hummus mistakes. Among them: too much garlic, too little garlic, too much tahini, too little tahini.
Armed with these more or less valuable tips, we got to the bottom of it ourselves and made buckets of hummus. Our tip: Use good (!) olive oil and cumin, and add a few drops of fresh lime juice along with the lemon.
Homemade Hummus – The Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 g chickpeas from a jar
- 20 g tahini
- good olive oil (about 2 tbsp)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 g cumin
- pepper, salt
- parsley
- pita bread
Preparation
1. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the water and setting it aside.
2. Place chickpeas, tahini, and garlic in a bowl and puree. Alternately add olive oil and chickpea water until a creamy mixture forms.
3. Finally, add the lemon and lime juice and season with salt, pepper, and cumin.
4. Let the hummus sit in the refrigerator for at least one, preferably two to three hours.
Also interesting: Vietnamese Spring Rolls Made at Home – The Recipe
Fill the puree into a deep bowl and use a spoon to form a well in the center. Drizzle olive oil over the hummus and garnish with parsley. It tastes best with warm pita bread.