Make Ahead

Best Ever Homemade Hummus

by:
December 29, 2009
5
2 Ratings
Best Ever Homemade Hummus
  • Serves about 4 cups or medium bowl
Author Notes

Though I am sure you won't think about Hummus first for a bean dish, this a great opportunity to introduce a staple. All my friends keep craving mine. For us it a taste of home and for you I hope an opportunity to taste the real deal if you make it. You won't regret looking for the right ingredients. And there are three keys to this easy recipe- the raw Tahini, good beans and cooking the beans with aromatics. You have to have great Tahini, one from the middle east, I use Al Wadi. Buy the beans from a good place that keep them fresh, preferably smaller ones. It does not last more than 2-3 days, but in any case it best served warm right after cooking and anyway there won't be any leftovers. I wish I just could find really good fluffy and thick pitas around here. —Cordelia

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 18 ounces of good, medium sized, garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
  • 1 big onion, peeled and quartered
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic
  • 1/4 of a bunch of parsley
  • 1/2-3/4 cups of good raw tahini paste (preferably from somewhere in the Middle East, I use al wadi from Lebanon)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
Directions
  1. Soak the chickpeas for at least 12 hours in cold tap water.
  2. Drain and put the chickpeas in a sauce pan with the onion, 3 cloves of garlic, parsley and cover with water, about double the amount of chickpeas. Bring to a boil, remove as much foam as you can from the top of the liquid, and cook for 1.5-2 hours, until the chickpeas are really soft and you can mash them easily in your fingers.
  3. Drain, but keep the liquid and the veggies. If you want you can take of the peel of the chickpea, it is a tedious process and I am not convince4d it makes a huge difference.
  4. Put the chickpeas, the cooked onion, garlic and parsley, uncooked 1-2 cloves of garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt, cumin and ½ cup of the cooking liquid in a food processor and mix well, until you get a very smooth paste. If it looks too thick (it will get thicker when it cools, so you can make it a little runnier if you do not serve it immediately, thought it should be a paste not chickpea stew) add a little more water, just 2 tablespoons at a time.
  5. Add the oil and mix well shortly. Taste for salt and see if you like a more distinct taste of cumin.
  6. Best served immediately, but in any case in room temperature, so take it out of the fridge some time before you serve. But not too long. It does not preserve well and won’t keep more than 2-3 in the fridge.
  7. You can save some whole chickpeas for decoration and also drizzle some very good extra virgin olive oil on top. Enjoy with pita bread and also traditionally with hard boiled egg and briny pickles.
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11 Reviews

sscook
sscook April 14, 2020
This is my go to Hummus recipe. The onions and garlic add so much flavor, I call this my favorite 5***** recipe.
 
Chelsey1818
Chelsey1818 July 14, 2013
This was amazing! I added more garlic and it was a huge hit! I also used canned chick peas and it turned out wonderful
 
emcsull
emcsull January 6, 2013
did you ever do the hot soak for the beans, where you bring the beans to a boil, let stand for an hour and THEN cook ? I would add the aromatics to the new cooking water then, I think.
I also LOVE the idea of cooking the chickpeas with the herbs and spices, my Croatian girlfriend makes her octopus salad that way and it is dreamy.
 
tenpenny
tenpenny March 5, 2012
I made this with canned chickpeas. Loved the idea of cooking onions and garlic, which I did briefly in the liquid the chickpeas came in. Came out great.
 
Neering
Neering November 26, 2011
I've made this a couple of times but not enough flavor for my tastes. Today I am adding cilantro instead of parsley and upped the amount. Also added more garlic, lemon and a mild chile pepper (after soaking) to food processor. Now I think it could qualify for the 'best ever' if not the most authentic.
 
me B.
me B. February 3, 2012
thanks for the info on the cilantro :) i've got a lot of dried cilantro but no parsley and all of the other ingredients on hand. i'm gonna try the cilantro myself.

 
me B.
me B. February 3, 2012
thanks for the info on the cilantro :) i've got a lot of dried cilantro but no parsley and all of the other ingredients on hand. i'm gonna try the cilantro myself.

 
Table9
Table9 November 10, 2010
Great recipe! I have been searching for the perfect hummus recipe and I have found it. Thank you.
 
MadisonMayberry
MadisonMayberry May 11, 2010
Great recipe. Looks super delicious and even better than something I could buy in a store, especially since it's so simple. Thanks for sharing!
 
Janneke V.
Janneke V. January 13, 2010
You need some balls to claim the title best ever homemade hummus and I'm surprised nobody reacted yet, I do believe we have more Middle Eastern cooks in the food 52 community. I like your version, it's the first time I cooked onion and garlic along with the chickpeas and I like the extra flavor it gives, nice recipe.
 
dymnyno
dymnyno January 7, 2010
This looks so delicious...I am going to make this soon.