Blend

Whipped Hummus With Roasted Carrots & Za’atar Oil From Hetty McKinnon

by:
October 20, 2020
4
11 Ratings
Whipped Hummus With Roasted Carrots & Za’atar Oil From Hetty McKinnon
Photo by JULIA GARTLAND. PROP STYLIST: SOPHIE STRANGIO. FOOD STYLIST: DREW AICHELE.
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Cookbook author, podcast host, and journal editor Hetty McKinnon thought she'd ruined her hummus after accidentally dumping a whole can of chickpeas, juice and all, into the blender. But she decided to press on—and discovered a luscious, super-smooth texture she’d never seen in hummus before, all without peeling chickpeas or invoking baking soda.

As Hetty wrote for The Guardian , “The result of a happy kitchen accident, this fluffy hummus can be served with vegetable crudité, crackers, or bread. Accidents happen, as they say. When these mishaps occur in the kitchen, the results can sometimes be nasty (salty shortbread biscuits anyone?), while at other times those cooking misadventures can be revelatory, and also delicious. This ‘whipped’ hummus is one of my recent kitchen discoveries.

“It is true that the world has plenty of hummus recipes, but not all are created equal. This one is fluffier than most, with a cloud-like texture, which is both light yet creamy. It is also oil-free.
This recipe happened by chance—while making a batch of hummus, I absentmindedly added a whole can of chickpeas—the beans and the liquid—to my blender, along with the regular hummus additions of tahini, garlic and lemon juice. As the mixture blended, I noticed a pillowy, almost-frothy texture forming. I stopped the motor, dipped my finger in and snuck a taste—the hummus was meringue-like and perfect.

“Serve this whipped hummus in any way you like—with vegetable crudité, crackers, on bread or with roasted carrots and an herbaceous za’atar oil, as I have here. Treat this hummus as a blank canvas for your favourite vegetable combinations—try roasted cauliflower with feta, Brussels sprouts with Puy lentils, lemony chargrilled broccoli, eggplant with pomegranate, or a quick tomato and parsley salad.”

A few more tips: We’ve found that a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or Ninja creates the smoothest, airiest texture, but other machines can work—you’ll just want to be sure to start with less aquafaba (chickpea liquid) and add it as you go. Adjust the garlic to your taste—if you don’t like a lot, aim for cloves on the smaller side. And, if you have them, Hetty has also used freshly cooked chickpeas and cooking liquid in this recipe.

Want to hear more about this recipe? On here. —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Whipped Hummus With Roasted Carrots & Za’atar Oil From Hetty McKinnon
Ingredients
  • Roasted carrots & za’atar oil
  • 1 bunch young carrots, trimmed and washed well
  • 1 handful toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
  • 1 handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon za’atar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon red chile flakes
  • Whipped hummus
  • 1 (439-gram) can chickpeas, with liquid (or 150 milliliters aquafaba with 260 grams cooked chickpeas)
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) tahini
  • 1/8 to 1/2 cups (60 milliliters to 125 milliliters) water
  • Sea salt and black pepper
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the carrots on a rimmed sheet pan, drizzle them with olive oil, and season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until soft and golden, rolling them gently on the pan midway through for even browning. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the za’atar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and chile flakes for the za’atar oil.
  3. Drain the chickpeas into a strainer set over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Add the chickpeas, 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid, garlic, and tahini to a (preferably) high-speed blender like a Vitamix or Ninja, or a food processor or other blender. Whizz on high speed, adding more liquid and scraping down the sides as needed if mixture seems too dry and the machine starts to struggle, for a total of 2 minutes or so, until emulsified and smooth. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, until the hummus is super smooth and light. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice, if needed.
  4. You can serve the hummus right away, when it will be slightly warm or room temperature, or chill it for a firmer texture. Spread some of the hummus on a serving plate. Top with the roasted carrots, and drizzle over the za’atar oil. Season everything with sea salt and black pepper and scatter with pistachios and parsley.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Sheri Browne Danielson
    Sheri Browne Danielson
  • durun99
    durun99
  • Carla Louise
    Carla Louise
  • Sam1148
    Sam1148
  • Kristen Miglore
    Kristen Miglore
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

Popular on Food52

17 Reviews

NXL
NXL April 18, 2021
Fantastic and gorgeous! I used two bunches of baby carrots, one orange and one purple. A show stopper!
 
Josho
Josho November 14, 2020
The last line of Step 2 says, "Taste and add more lemon juice, if needed." But we were never instructed to add lemon juice in the first place. Were we supposed to add some earlier?
 
Carla L.
Carla L. November 14, 2020
When looking at the list of Ingredients, there is mentioned the Juice of 1 lemon,approximately.
 
Josho
Josho November 14, 2020
I understand that. There is lemon juice in the ingredients list. And at the end of Step 2, it says to add more if needed. That means we're supposed to have already used some earlier in the recipe.
 
Amy
Amy February 16, 2021
I hear you, Josho. I just added it once I realized it (after blending for 2 minutes - I just blended a bit more). Must be a typo. Great hummus!
 
Lilly
Lilly October 25, 2020
...just made this today and I added a bit of cumin and a touch of paprika. I’ve been trying to make great hummus for many years. No matter what I did, I could never get it smooth. Today I found my dream hummus recipe. It is light, smooth and so creamy and I can’t stop eating it. Big virtual hugs to all involved for sharing it.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. October 29, 2020
Thank you for commenting here, Lilly—I was so happy to hear this.
 
Sheri B.
Sheri B. October 24, 2020
This was super hard on my vita mix and required a lot of messy work. I do huge smoothies of lots of veggies, but this did cause smoke. The lemon juice was left off the recipe, unless I just cannot see where to use it. The consistency is nice, like pancake batter.
 
Lrf
Lrf October 28, 2020
I had issues with my Vitamix too. I started with 1/4 cup aquafaba and upped it to 1/2 cup, but my Vitamix was still struggling even so. It would only process at a low speed, it seemed stuck at higher speeds. I see now I should've probably added some more liquid! The hummus came out great though, wondering if it would've been even fluffier with more aquafaba or water.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. October 29, 2020
I'm sorry to hear about the smoke—I think with a Vitamix, you could afford to add more liquid at first, but brands vary so much, I wanted to start conservatively.
 
durun99
durun99 October 23, 2020
Nuke the aquafaba and chickpeas before processing them and you're really getting somewhere: https://food52.com/recipes/81949-hummus-2-1
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. October 29, 2020
Wow, thanks so much for sharing this, durun99—great minds...
 
durun99
durun99 October 30, 2020
Exactly! Microwaving the aquafaba and chickpeas first not only makes it easier to process them, but if you work quickly enough, the hummus is still warm when you serve it, which is fabulous.
 
Carla L.
Carla L. October 21, 2020
It would be nice,not to waste that aquafabe! I usually drain mine into a jar and store in the fridge,with good intentions to whip it up into a delicious Meringue! Nine out of ten times I forget about it and have to throw it out,after all,when it has become the worst smlling glug in a jar,that nobody knows what the heck it is!😱.
But I Will use the Chickpea water from now on,to make this smooth Hummus! I never buy the Tahini, as I always have crunchy Peanut butter in the pantry and I add a good dash of Smoked Paprika and extra virgin Olive, the Lemon juice and garlic!
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. October 29, 2020
I agree, Carla, it's refreshing to encounter a recipe that uses both at once!
 
Sam1148
Sam1148 October 21, 2020
That's pretty much how I've been making Hummus for decades.
Tho I do drain (using the lid of the can) into a small glass. Then other things go into the device. In my case a 30 dollar "Mini prep" Cuisinart. I'm suprised to see the steam on the vitamix demo. I wonder if the heat changes things.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. October 29, 2020
Do you add some of the aquafaba back in, Sam? I've wondered about how much the heat of the Vitamix affects the texture too, but it's hard to separate that from the speed and shape of the blades. Another clue—durun99 above shared his smart take based on a Milk Street recipe, which warms the chickpeas and aquafaba too: https://food52.com/recipes/81949-hummus-2-1