Hummus (Garbanzo Dip)

White or Green Chickpeas

by Cat, July 2008 (Photo, right, from White or Green Chickpeas

See also: Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Dip); Bissara (Fava Bean Dip); Taratour Sauce (Tangy Sesame Tahini);

Links to my old site:  Middle-Eastern Meza;

Hummus is common to all middle eastern cultures.  A similar dish is also common to Greek cuisine.  It is used as a spread for pita bread, a salad dressing, and a veggie dip.  It can be made without the Taratour sauce or sesame tahini (sesame seed paste), but it won’t taste as good; however, I prefer to use half the original amount (1/2 recipe Taratour).  Garbanzos (chickpeas) are a must; no other white bean will do.

Hummus (Hommos)

You can use sprouted garbanzos or just soaked garbanzos to make this.  The instructions here are for a 12-hour soak.  See the Falafel recipe above, for sprouting instructions; requires much less cooking time if sprouted first.

This recipe, adapted from A Passion for Vegetables by Vera Gewanter (3), and The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two by Anna Thomas (4), serves 4 – 6 as a first course.

Will keep, refrigerated in a covered jar, for at least 2 weeks

See YouTube video (1) by DedeMed.com (2)  for Dede’s video and recipe that uses yogurt.

Ingredients:

Cooking the Beans

• 1 1/2 cups dried garbanzos (chickpeas)
• warm filtered water
• lemon juice (1 Tbsp per quart of water)

Making the Hummus

• 4 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (or more, to taste), finely minced
• 2 Tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley or mint
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander or more, to taste (or experiment with other spices such as cumin)
• 1/2 tspUnrefined sea salt or more, to taste
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• dash cayenne (optional)
• 1/2 – 1 recipe Taratour Sauce (tangy tahini) or 2 – 4 Tbsp tahini

Garnish

• 1/2 tsp paprika
• additional chopped parsley and olive oil as garnish

Equipment

• Bowl or jar
• Saucier or 2- or 3-quart saucepan
• Blender

Method:

Beans

1. Cover beans with warm water.  Stir in whey or lemon juice and leave in a warm place overnight (12 hours).  Check after a few hours and add more water as necessary. Alternately, sprout the beans for 3 days, rinsing 2-3 times per day.
2. Drain beans, rinse and put in saucier, with 3 cups fresh water to cover.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook for several hours–you want them to be overcooked.  Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Make the Hummus 

1. Put half of the cooked beans, and 1/4 cup of their liquid in blender; puree; transfer to bowl.  Repeat with other half. (A food mill could be used instead of a blender).
2. Add remaining hummus ingredients to bowl of pureed beans and blend thoroughly.
3. It should have consistency similar to mayo; if too thick, beat in a bit more cooking liquid.
4. Prepare Taratour Sauce (if using).
5. Stir Taratour or tahini into hummus until well blended.

Assembly or Serving ideas

• Spoon hummus into shallow bowl(s).  Make a slight depression in the center, and pour a bit of olive oil into the depression.  Sprinkle paprika and parsley over the top.  You can also add a sprig of mint as decoration.
• Serve with crackers, toast, pita, or naan, raw veggies, olives, etc..
• Store leftovers in covered jar, in refrigerator.

References:

1. DedeMed video: youtube.com/watch?v=W4uSf0d5yhw
2. DedeMed Hummus Recipe: dedemed.com/index.php/Vegetarian-Recipes/Hummus.html
3. A Passion for Vegetables by Vera Gewanter
4. The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two by Anna Thomas