Homemade hummus: smooth as a restaurant's, with tahini, lemon and ice-cold water
The chickpea spread that in little more than a decade went from exotic to a Polish breakfast and party snack. Homemade it is creamy, fresh and far cheaper than the shop version. Two tricks separate smooth hummus from grainy mush: tahini whipped with lemon first, and ice-cold water drizzled into the running processor. A quarter of an hour and six servings for bread, vegetables and sandwiches.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Chickpeas 5 min
- Blending 10 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneDrain the chickpeas
Drain the chickpeas in a sieve, keeping a few spoons of the liquid, and rinse under running water. Set aside a spoonful for decoration. Put a glass of water in the freezer, or drop a few ice cubes into it.
Ingredients: 2 pcs canned chickpeas · 4 tbsp tahini (sesame paste) · 1 pcs lemon, juice · 2 cloves garlic · 1 tsp ground cumin · 1 tsp salt · 5 tbsp ice-cold water · 3 tbsp olive oil
TipWant hummus as smooth as velvet? Tip the drained chickpeas into a bowl of water and rub them between your palms: the skins float up, pour them off. It takes 5 minutes and makes the biggest difference to the texture.
Drained, rinsed, skins optionally removedWhip the tahini with lemon
Put the tahini and lemon juice in the food processor, add the garlic, cumin and salt. Process 1 minute: the mixture first thickens and pales, then turns fluffy. This whipped tahini gives the hummus its creaminess before any chickpeas go in.
TipTahini separates in the jar: stir it thoroughly with the oil that gathers on top before using. Dry tahini from the bottom of the jar makes a dense, heavy hummus.
Tahini with lemon, whipped paleAdd the chickpeas
Add the chickpeas and a spoon of olive oil. Process 2 minutes, stopping once to scrape down the sides. The mixture will be thick and still slightly grainy.
Thick, still grainyDrizzle in ice-cold water
With the processor running, add the ice-cold water a spoon at a time, 3–5 spoons, and process another 2–3 minutes, until the hummus pales, fluffs up and is smooth. Taste: add salt, lemon or cumin.
TipCold water does two things: it loosens the paste to a creamy consistency and, whipped with the tahini, aerates it, so the hummus is lighter in colour and fluffy. With tap water the hummus comes out heavier and less fluffy. Long processing does no harm; short processing leaves lumps.
Ice-cold water a spoon at a time, until paleServe with olive oil
Spread in a shallow bowl, make a swirl with the back of a spoon, pour the olive oil into it, sprinkle with paprika and the reserved chickpeas. Serve with pita, bread and vegetable sticks. Keeps 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge; it thickens, so stir in a spoon of water before serving.
Ingredients: ½ tsp sweet paprika · 4 pcs pita or bread · 2 pcs carrots · 1 pcs cucumber
A swirl, olive oil, paprika, bread and vegetables
Before you start
With roasted pepper or beetroot
One red pepper roasted at 220 °C (about 30 minutes) and peeled or a small boiled beetroot blended with the rest: red or pink hummus, slightly sweeter.
From dried chickpeas
Soak 250 g dried overnight with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, cook 60–90 minutes until very soft, falling apart between your fingers. Hummus from them is smoother than from a can, and the whole batch costs as much as one can.
Without tahini
Instead of tahini, 3 spoons of natural peanut butter, or a spoon of toasted sesame seeds ground with 2 spoons of olive oil. A different flavour, the same creaminess.
