Hummus
Dried chickpeas cooked soft with bicarbonate of soda, then whipped with tahini and ice water until the purée mounds like buttercream.
- Prep
- 20m
- Cook
- 1h 10m
- Waiting
- 12h
- Total
- 13h 30m
- Serves
- 6
- Effort
- Moderate
Method
Tinned chickpeas simmered ten minutes with bicarb — softer than straight from the tin, and no overnight soak.
Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.
| 200 g | Blend the tahini until it seizes, then thins to a pale cream 5m The seizing is normal — water hitting the sesame paste. Keep going and it comes back looser and lighter. | Whip everything together, then rest 20 minutes before serving 25m It thickens as it sits. Loosen with more ice water just before it goes on the plate. | ||
| 4 tbsp | ||||
| 1 clove | ||||
| 4 tbsp | ||||
| 1 1/2 tsp | ||||
| 1/2 tsp | ||||
| 250 g | Soak overnight in plenty of cold water 12h | Simmer until the chickpeas crush to nothing between two fingers 1h Skim the loose skins and the grey foam off the top as they rise. | ||
| 1 tsp | ||||
| 1/2 tsp | ||||
| 3 tbsp | ||||
| a pinch | ||||
-
Blend the tahini until it seizes, then thins to a pale cream
5m- tahini 200 g
- lemon juice 4 tbsp
- garlic 1 clove
- ice water 4 tbsp
- fine salt 1 1/2 tsp
- ground cumin 1/2 tsp
The seizing is normal — water hitting the sesame paste. Keep going and it comes back looser and lighter.
-
Soak overnight in plenty of cold water
12h- dried chickpeas 250 g
- bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp
-
Simmer until the chickpeas crush to nothing between two fingers
1h- from 2 Soak overnight in plenty of cold water
- bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp
Skim the loose skins and the grey foam off the top as they rise.
-
Whip everything together, then rest 20 minutes before serving
25m- from 1 Blend the tahini until it seizes, then thins to a pale cream
- from 3 Simmer until the chickpeas crush to nothing between two fingers
- extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
- sumac (optional) a pinch
It thickens as it sits. Loosen with more ice water just before it goes on the plate.
| 2 x 400 g tins | Simmer the drained chickpeas with bicarb until the skins float loose 10m This is the step that makes tinned chickpeas behave. Do not skip it. | Blend to a smooth purée, then rest 20 minutes 8m Blend longer than feels reasonable. Two full minutes is where it turns pale. | |
| 1/2 tsp | |||
| to cover | |||
| 180 g | |||
| 3 tbsp | |||
| 1 clove | |||
| 5 tbsp | |||
| 1 1/2 tsp | |||
| 3 tbsp |
-
Simmer the drained chickpeas with bicarb until the skins float loose
10m- tinned chickpeas 2 x 400 g tins
- bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp
- water to cover
This is the step that makes tinned chickpeas behave. Do not skip it.
-
Blend to a smooth purée, then rest 20 minutes
8m- from 1 Simmer the drained chickpeas with bicarb until the skins float loose
- tahini 180 g
- lemon juice 3 tbsp
- garlic 1 clove
- ice water 5 tbsp
- fine salt 1 1/2 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
Blend longer than feels reasonable. Two full minutes is where it turns pale.
What the bicarbonate does
Raising the pH of the soaking and cooking water breaks down pectin in the cell walls far faster than plain water can, and it loosens the seed coat so the skins slip off and float. Chickpeas that would need two hours collapse in one, and skinless chickpeas are the whole difference between grainy and silky.
The ice water matters for a different reason. A processor running for two minutes heats the tahini, and warm sesame paste turns thick and slightly bitter. Cold water holds the temperature down while the blade beats air in, which is what turns the purée pale.
Notes
- Season while the chickpeas are still warm — they take up salt as they cool.
- Keep a cup of the cooking liquid. It loosens leftovers better than water.
- Fridge-cold hummus tastes of nothing. Half an hour on the counter first.