Zahav's Hummus Tehina
Author Notes: Chef Solomonov writes, "The secret to great Israeli-style hummus is an obscene amount of tehina, as much as half of the recipe by weight, so it's especially important to use the best quality you can find. Unlike Greek-style hummus, which is heavy on garlic and lemon, Israeli hummus is about the marriage of chickpeas and tehina." Note: The original recipe makes a much larger quantity of Tehina Sauce (the garlic, lemon, tahini, and salt mixture in steps 3 and 4), which is wonderful to have on hand if you want to scale up—it will keep for a week refrigerated, or it can be frozen for up to a month. Here we're using the single batch of Tehina Sauce developed by Bon Appétit. Recipe adapted slightly from Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) and Bon Appétit (September 2015). —Genius Recipes
Makes about 4 cups
- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons baking soda, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1/3 cup (or more) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
- 2/3 cup excellent quality tahini (a.k.a. tehina—Chef Michael Solomonov loves Soom Foods, available on Amazon)
- 1/4 teaspoon (or more) ground cumin
- Olive oil, for serving
- Chopped parsley and paprika, for serving (optional)
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the baking soda and cover with plenty of water. (The chickpeas will double in volume, so use more water than you think you need.) Soak the chickpeas overnight at room temperature. The next day, drain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water.
- Place the chickpeas in a large pot with the remaining 1 teaspoon baking soda and add cold water to cover by at least 4 inches. Bring the chickpeas to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Lower the heat to medium, cover the pot, and continue to simmer for about 1 hour, until the chickpeas are completely tender. Then simmer them a little more. (The secret to creamy hummus is overcooked chickpeas; don't worry if they are mushy and falling apart a little.) Drain.
- Meanwhile, process garlic, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until coarsely puréed; let sit 10 minutes to allow garlic to mellow.
- Strain garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible. Return liquid to food processor; discard solids. Add tahini and pulse to combine. With motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water by the tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick. Add chickpeas and cumin and puree for several minutes, until the hummus is smooth and uber-creamy. Then purée it some more! Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, lemon juice, and cumin if you like.
- To serve, spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, dust with paprika, top with parsley and more tehina sauce if you have any left, and drizzle generously with oil.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes:
Hummus|Beans & Legumes|Appetizers|Snacks|Olive Oil
Topics: Genius Recipes, Middle-Eastern Cooking, Snacks, Appetizers, Wellness
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16 days ago M Stuart Itter
Have been following this Zahav hummus thing for two years. Raves all over the place. Yet, like some of the other commenters, I did not find it earth shattering. One huge factor may be the chick pea garnish that Zahov puts on it. The garnish is not included in this recipe. It is included others. Well worth finding and including it. (Just saw a FoodandWine version that has it.)
4 months ago macfadden
Tasty hummus. We did not find it "life changing," as another reviewer thought, but it was definitely several steps above my usual recipe that calls for a can of chickpeas and a just a few tablespoons of tahini. It was very creamy and smooth tasting, without much sharpness from the garlic or lemon. I am not the sort of person who mail orders tahini from Philadelphia, but I did some research and decided on the house brand tahini at Whole Foods. It was not bitter at all.
5 months ago Michael52
Is Soom tahini not bitter? I used Sadaf tahini as I had that on hand and found this recipe to be very bitter as that tahini is quite bitter. I also thought the recipe had a lack of garlic flavor and will modify next time. Texture is very nice, hopefully i can get good flavor in the future.
5 months ago trent
Life Changing! Thank you!
6 months ago GW
Just made it today, and the added step of soaking the dried chick peas, allowing the garlic to mellow and put through the fine mesh strainer before adding to the softened chickpeas is worth the effort. The added comments about switching out the lemon for red wine vinegar or roasting the garlic are all great ideas to try for future...did purchase the recommended Soom Foods Tahini through Amazon...served on a platter w/caper berries, red peppers, castelvetrano olives, marinated artichokes, creamy pickled herring, cornichons/pearl onions, pickled shallots, smoked salmon, gorgonzola and provolone cheeses, and crisp toasts...dinner is going to be good tonight!
6 months ago tking213
Want to change things up a bit? Switch out the lemon with red wine vinegar. Sounds weird, I know. But I had it this way at a Turkish cafe and it was quite unique. Another idea is to use roasted garlic, its not bad either.
7 months ago Korena Vine
I've made this several times using canned chickpeas because I'm too impatient to wait for the overnight chickpea soaking, etc, and the hummus came out excellent. However I just made a batch with home-cooked chickpeas and HOLY CRAP it is TRANSCENDENT!! SOOO creamy and delicious. It really is buttercream-esque!
7 months ago draya3
Right!?! And when you taste it when it's still warm? Nirvana!
7 months ago Taylor Stanton
This is incredible. I've been a devotee of the Ottolenghi hummus-making method for years now but I may have found a new favorite... The step where you process the garlic, lemon, and salt and then let it rest before straining is genius indeed.
7 months ago draya3
Just finished making this for the fourth or fifth time. It's always the most requested thing for me to bring to any kind of pot luck. This time I peeled the garlic before processing to avoid pressing through the strainer. Just processed longer and it came out just as amazing. I doubled the recipe to make some for a friend, but this is not hard and very, very worth it! Getting that warm hummus right out of the food processor can't be topped by many other concoctions.
9 months ago garlicdrone
Very nice
10 months ago Laura
No where do I see removal of chickpea skins which adds to the creaminess. Usually if skins are left on you get that weird texture.
10 months ago Mari Noda
Great recipe! I used the tahini my supermarket carries, -and it was still very tasty. It is very subtle, yet flavorful, thick & creamy.
11 months ago Dimitra Alexakos
I use the Ottolenghi method for hummus and remove the sounds of the chickpeas ... that is what makes the hummus creamy and blending at high speed in my Vitamix. I have been using the Preferida brand of chickpeas fir years and always to rave reviews. Btw ... Greeks did not invent hummus its origins are from the Arabic countries.
about 1 year ago Hummuvation
Excellent. Slightly more hassle than the hummus I usually make, but definitely an interesting variation. I'll be making this again.
about 1 year ago mick
I didn't know overcooked chickpeas is a secret. It is good to know.
I made double batch too. It tastes wow.
about 1 year ago Daniel A. Stimler
Although this hummus was delicious and healthy the process is just too long. Tack on special orders like tahina and this one just didn't seem worth the "trouble".
about 1 year ago Maggie Asfahani
Real hummus has tahina (tahini) in it. You can buy it at any grocery store now.
about 1 month ago Alice
I actually substitute peanut butter for tahini, but I don't use a whole lot, as the flavor is quite strong. And then use some sesame oil in addition to olive oil.
about 1 year ago caarin
After visiting the freshly opened Dizengoff for hummus in Chelsea Market yesterday, I had to try Solomonov's recipe at home. This was glorious. The same creamy light consistency as the Dizengoff and Zahav. Of course it's easier to buy hummus at the store - but this was worth every minute. Dizengoff is famous for the toppings they add to their hummus. I warmed up some tapenade and put it in the center - just great. The only note I have is when they say use a big pot to cook the chickpeas - yes! I made quite a foamy mess cooking the chickpeas in a 3 1/2 quart pot. Will definitely take out the stock pot next time. And there will be a next time - soon.
over 1 year ago Kara
I will never buy canned chickpeas again. This method makes the creamiest most delectable hummus. I made a double batch so I could freeze some for later!
over 1 year ago jerri
does this freeze well? i also made a double batch for the 2nd time. i'd love to freeze some. we are eating this waaay to fast......
about 1 year ago Maggie Asfahani
My father makes the most amazing hummus ever. He freezes the cooked chickpeas, but not the finished product. :) Works great.
over 1 year ago jerri
without a doubt, hands-down, the best hummus ever! followed it to the letter and it came out absolutely perfect. i used the soom tehini ( ordered from amazon). order 2 - it's great stuff. i don't know if it made a difference, but from now on that's what i will use. thanks for an amazing recipe!
over 1 year ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Just made this for a meeting that I am hosting tonight, it is hands down the best hummus I have made. Processing the garlic with the lemon and only using the infused juice is brilliant.
over 1 year ago Kiki
"Here we're using the single batch of Tehina Sauce developed by Bon Appétit." What is the tehina sauce referred to in the Author Notes? Is that different than the hummus recipe?
over 1 year ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Creative Director of Food52
Apologies for the confusion—in Solomonov's book the garlic, lemon, tahini and salt mixture in step 3-4 is written as a separate recipe to make a larger batch of Tehina Sauce, but we followed Bon Appetit's lead and went with a single combined recipe. I'll clarify the headnote.
over 1 year ago Gloria Britton
Yes I did, AND I also submitted a correction of the company name right after M first message. Guess you didn't see that.
over 1 year ago julie.hewitt.58
Agree with drbabs on this one...too much tahini for me and garlic was bit strong. Blended it with avocodos and had raves. New guacamole. ..sooo yummy
over 1 year ago Gloria Britton
Is Tehini and Tehina the same product? Chef Michael Solomonov loves Soom Foods. I could only find Tehina by Som Foods on Amazon. Is this the same product he used in his version of hummus??
over 1 year ago Gloria Britton
by Soom* Foods on Amazon
over 1 year ago Pennywhistler
If you haven't learned to spell by now .....
over 1 year ago Gloria Britton
Pen, no need to be so Smug. I made a mistake spelling tehina as tehini.
over 1 year ago Pennywhistler
Actually, you spelled the company's name wrong, which might explain some of your problems.
over 1 year ago Pennywhistler
It don't mean squat unless you are using really really good quality dried chickpeas. Canned is atrocious, and normal peas found in the US are the very bottom of the import barrel.
Demand the best!
over 1 year ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Just made this today--I really liked the technique of mellowing the garlic in the lemon juice, but it causes the garlic to be more of a background taste, which is ok with me. I don't tolerate raw garlic all that well. However, there's a lot of tahini, and it overwhelms the taste of the hummus. I'd suggest holding the tahini sauce separately, and then adding it a bit at a time to the pureed chickpeas until it tastes the way you want it to. Also, I used a lot more lemon than the recipe called for, and mine doesn't taste lemony at all. Again, I think it's the tahini. I'm off to buy more chickpeas--I'm going to cook up another batch and blend it all together with more lemon till it tastes the way I like it. It is very creamy, though, which is very nice.
over 1 year ago Pennywhistler
Chef Solomonov writes, "The secret to great Israeli-style hummus is an obscene amount of tehina, as much as half of the recipe by weight, so it's especially important to use the best quality you can find. Unlike Greek-style hummus, which is heavy on garlic and lemon, Israeli hummus is about the marriage of chickpeas and tehina."
over 1 year ago Heather
This was nice, but I thought it was rather bland. I couldn't taste garlic at all. I should have done what I normally do, and double the amount of garlic.
over 1 year ago kzmccaff
I had the same problem! I made it last night and just had some around 3pm with pita and it was bland (time just to show it had a chance to sit!). I put some into a little glass jar to bring to work for a snack--I think it probably would be better with some fresh spices on top as pictured. I think next time I'll add more of lemon and garlic sauce!
The texture, however, was awesome!!
over 1 year ago fur8elise
This tastes even better, if the cumin is heated in a frying pan just until fragrant.
Showing 40 out of 40 comments