Making Hummus from Scratch
Store-bought versions often trade texture for shelf life, resulting in a gritty or gummy paste. By boiling your own chickpeas with a touch of baking soda, you break down the skins entirely, yielding a base so smooth it feels like velvet on the tongue.
The skin is your enemy.
If you don't have the patience to boil the chickpeas until they are disintegrating, you must remove the skins by hand. Skip this and the texture will suffer.
- Heavy-bottomed pot
- High-speed blender or food processor
- Fine-mesh sieve
What goes in.
- 1 cupdried chickpeas
- 1 tspbaking soda
- 1/2 cuphigh-quality hulled tahini
- 1/4 cupfreshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clovegarlic, mashed into a paste
- 2 tbspice water
- 1 tspsea salt
Aerating the tahini base
Before adding chickpeas, blend the tahini, lemon, and garlic with ice water until the mixture turns pale and thickens; this creates the light, whipped structure that separates pro-level hummus from a dense bean dip.
The method.
Soak
Cover the chickpeas with at least three inches of water and let sit overnight. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
Boil
Place chickpeas in a pot with the baking soda and cover with water. Boil until they are exceptionally soft, roughly 45 to 60 minutes. They should crush between your fingers with zero resistance.
Drain and cool
Drain the chickpeas and run them under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Whip the base
Add tahini, lemon juice, salt, and garlic to the blender. Process until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the ice water until the mixture is light and creamy.
Combine
Add the chickpeas to the blender. Process on high for two minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until the mixture is completely homogeneous.
Other turns to take.
Herb-Infused
Fold in a handful of fresh parsley or cilantro after the chickpeas are fully blended for a bright finish.
Roasted Garlic
Replace raw garlic with a full bulb of roasted garlic for a deeper, mellow profile.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Always use cold water when blending; heat from the friction of the blades can cause the tahini to split.
If the hummus is too thick, add more ice water one tablespoon at a time until the texture suits your preference.
Let the finished hummus rest for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to calibrate.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use canned chickpeas?
You can, but you must boil them with baking soda for 20 minutes to soften the skins if you want a true, restaurant-style texture.
Why is my hummus bitter?
The tahini may be low quality or over-oxidized; ensure your tahini is stored in a cool place and stirred thoroughly before measuring.
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