Hummus

Hummus bi Tahini (Lebanese Hummus)

A silky, pale purée of chickpeas and tahini — the cornerstone of the Lebanese mezze table. The secret lies in blending the beans while hot and loosening with their cooking water until it turns almost pourable.

Prep

15 min

Cook

90 min

Total

105 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •250 g (9 oz (about 1½ cups)) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight; canned may be used but will be less silky
• •1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), for softening the chickpeas
• •120 g (½ cup) good tahini, well-stirred; Lebanese or Palestinian style, not the dry, separated kind
• •1 whole lemon, juiced, about 45 ml / 3 tbsp juice
• •2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
• •1 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
• •1 pinch ground cumin, optional, traditional in some Lebanese homes
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) ice water, to help the tahini emulsify and lighten
• •60–120 ml (¼–½ cup) reserved chickpea cooking water, hot; this is the key to pourable texture
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) fruity extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing
• •1 tsp sweet paprika or ground cumin, for dusting
• •1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped, optional garnish
• •4 whole warm pita breads, to serve

Steps

1. 1 Place the soaked chickpeas in a large pot, cover with plenty of cold water, add the baking soda, and bring to a boil. Boil hard for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse well. This step is a traditional softening trick — discard the cloudy water.
2. 2 Return the chickpeas to the pot, cover with fresh cold water by about 5 cm (2 inches), and simmer gently, partially covered, for 1 to 1½ hours, until the chickpeas are very tender and beginning to fall apart. Skim any foam. Do not add salt yet — it toughens the skins.
3. 3 Reserve about 250 ml (1 cup) of the cooking water, then drain the chickpeas. For the silkiest texture, pinch each chickpea and slip off the loose skins; this is tedious but the traditional route to a velvety purée. A shortcut is to rub the drained chickpeas between clean tea towels.
4. 4 While the chickpeas are still hot, blend the tahini, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, and cumin in a food processor for 30 seconds until thick and pale. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the ice water and blend until the tahini loosens into a light, whipped cream.
5. 5 Add the hot chickpeas and half the reserved cooking water to the processor. Blend for a full 2–3 minutes, stopping to scrape down, until completely smooth. Add more hot cooking water, a tablespoon at a time, until the hummus is almost pourable — it should ribbon off a spoon rather than mound.
6. 6 Taste and adjust with more salt, lemon, or garlic. The hummus should taste bright, nutty, and savoury, not flat. Blend another 30 seconds to re-emulsify after any adjustment.
7. 7 To serve: spread onto a shallow plate, using the back of a spoon to swirl a well in the centre. Pool the olive oil in the well, dust generously with paprika or cumin, and scatter parsley and a few whole chickpeas if you like.
8. 8 Serve immediately with warm pita torn into pieces. Hummus is best eaten fresh and warm; leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge — loosen with a splash of water before serving.