Surprisingly enough, Mediterranean was one of the major flavors we enjoyed during our recent vacation to Mexico. We ate at several different restaurants that had great Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. We were reminded that we hadn’t yet mastered a hummus recipe that was ‘just right’. Problem solved.
Sonja and our friend Laura tinkered with this recipe until they mastered it. They didn’t try reinventing the wheel, but learned that cooking your own chickpeas and using fresh squeezed lemon adds a subtle freshness that makes it so good! Cooking the chickpeas does require forethought – but if you think ahead a little bit it will pay off in flavor. The recipe uses a food processor, which is good because our food processor was feeling a little jaded that the new stand mixer we got for Christmas has been getting so much attention…
- 1 cup dried chickpeas or 1½ cans cooked chickpeas
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup water
- If using dried chickpeas, place 1 cup dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover with 3 inches of water. Soak in the refrigerator overnight or about 8 to 10 hours.
- Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas; place them in a pot and cover with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 1 hour or more, until tender.
- In a food processor, add 2 cups of cooked chickpeas, ¼ cup tahini, 2 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup olive oil, the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tablespoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, several pinches of kosher salt, and some fresh ground black pepper. Pulse until roughly chopped.
- Turn on the food processor and pour about ½ cup of water in a steady stream until the hummus is blended nicely. You may need to add a little more or less water to get the desired consistency. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking. Serve with pita or veggies.
Happy Cooking! ~ Sonja & Alex
29 Comments
Sarah
March 2, 2011 at 10:50 amhmmm…seems like this is one I had better prepare when Leah comes to town next week!
Alex
March 2, 2011 at 11:07 amYou gotta give that food processor some love!
Tiffany
March 2, 2011 at 4:23 pmYes, hummus sounds easy to make, but it does take a little trial and error, I love this recipe, and yes, the fresh lemon is important! Lovely photos too
Beth M
March 2, 2011 at 5:19 pmThis is pretty close to the recipe that I use and I agree, BEST HUMMUS EVER! It has the best texture, best zing (from the lemon) and just the right amount of “nutty” from the tahini. I could eat buckets of the stuff!
Tara
March 2, 2011 at 6:04 pmHaha…the best Italian food I’ve had was in Mexico. Funny how that goes! I LOVE hummus and I think your recipe sounds wonderful!
NancyC
March 2, 2011 at 10:44 pmI love hummus! I have a recipe I’ve made that’s a little different, but I want to try yours–it sounds really good!
Kulsum at JourneyKitchen
March 3, 2011 at 3:17 amyes yes! this is how a good hummus is to be made. I really feel sad for people who get it wrong because its so easy and its human right to get right hummus in life :-) You might be interested in soemthing called Fatteh hummus on my blog – Its like the father of basic hummus
P.S. Love the picture
Caramel Wings
March 3, 2011 at 9:38 amThis Hummus is SO GOOD! I make it all the time!! It’s high in Manganese as well as yummy so I always have some in my fridge along with some carrots which I dip into it and snack all day!
Kasey
March 3, 2011 at 12:16 pmI’m a big fan of hummus – made from scratch, it’s always better than store-bought. What an adorable blog you have! I’ll be back.
Vegolicious
March 3, 2011 at 5:53 pmI love hummus! Yours looks amazing and so much better than anything you could buy in a store.
I’d love for your to submit them to Vegolicious, a vegetarian food photo gallery where readers can browse beautiful photos to discover new recipes and wonderful blogs. If you would like to share this recipe with our readers please submit a photo along with a link to this post.
wgfoodie
March 4, 2011 at 10:06 amlove it. making it this weekend. thx for sharing!
Amanda
March 4, 2011 at 5:52 pmThis seriously looks delicious! I have only ever bought hummus from the store, but I think after reading this I will definitely have to try making it! :) I love your photos! They are beautiful!
Melinda Neely
March 4, 2011 at 6:16 pmOh, that’s more lemon than I used last time. Maybe that’s why mine isn’t has good as I’d like it to be. Is there any certain brand of tahini you like?
Sonja
March 12, 2011 at 5:41 pmWe don’t have a favorite brand of tahini (haven’t tried too many yet since they go a long way)! Do you have any to recommend?
Michele
March 22, 2011 at 12:16 amI just tried this, and it is the best hummus ever! So super easy too!
Alex
April 17, 2011 at 7:03 pmThis recipe is great. I’ve made it twice now and it is delicious.
Denise
May 15, 2011 at 5:59 pmChef Ronen Skinezjes (of Manta Ray restaurant) in Tel Aviv uses ice cubes when making hummus to add air and volume.
Sonja
May 16, 2011 at 2:11 pmHow interesting — we may have to try it out! Thanks for the recommendation :)
anonymous
June 16, 2011 at 1:54 pmI looove Hummus; its the best! And you definitely chose a very tasty way of serving it.
Karen Weston
April 28, 2012 at 10:11 amThis is a wonderful hummus. I love to add juice from my olive jar for part of the water, and after its finished processing I add whole stuffed olives or kalamata olives — takes this over the top as a spread for toasted homemade whole wheat pita chips or veggies!! :-)
Mike
May 23, 2012 at 6:54 pmPerfect recipe! I was missing tahini so I used sesame oil and pine nuts. Also added fresh rosemary and basil since I had that laying around and I just cant leave a recipe well enough alone. Thanks for the inspiration!
Katherine
June 7, 2012 at 8:36 pmI have a problem whenever I make hummus….I usually just wing it without actually measuring anything (I’m not sure if that’s my problem or not) but my hummus always has this…really bitter taste. Like I put too much olive oil in, BUT, I’m just trying to get it to the right texture. Should I add water instead? I’m lost on what to do. I love the hummus from the store, but I’m having the hardest time making it at home!!!
Sonja
June 23, 2012 at 4:44 pmHmm! Yes, you might want to try measuring out the ingredients if you are getting a bitter taste. You can definitely add water or lemon juice to get it to a lighter consistency. We also like adding tahini — though we used to make it without it, we found that helps to add to a creamy texture. Let us know if you get it to work out!
Sabrina
August 5, 2012 at 12:52 pmI made this hummus, and think it is a good base. I think it turned out waaay too lemony for me. I used one of those ceramic lemon squeezers though, and that thing basically pulverizes the lemon to get all the juice out. I tried the recipe a second time, and doubled the cayenne, and halved the lemon, and added about 4x as much garlic. Love it!
Holly
September 9, 2012 at 2:52 pmI’m going to try this today. But I think I’ll just use my blender instead of food processor; my processor is cheap and weak. Hummus is like kimchi in one important respect: make it yourself and you can have it for 1/8 the price of buying it ready-made. Thanks for the lovely recipe and photo!
Mélanie
June 23, 2013 at 12:59 pmAbsolutely delicious! Thank you!
Question, is the garnish topping paprika and cilantro?
Lindsay
April 14, 2015 at 10:13 amI worked in an Egyptian restaurant for years. This recipe is very close to what the owners used. (They were famous for their hummus) I would just substitute the water for white vinager. It’s an AMAZING differance!! I also use natural peanut butter instead of Tahini, cause it’s such a pain to work with once its seperated.
Alex
April 15, 2015 at 12:52 pmThanks for the tips!
Sonja
April 18, 2015 at 9:55 pmThese are great tips! Thanks, Lindsay!