Don’t you just love hummus?? That decadent creamy texture and the nutty, tangy flavors… it’s one of my favorite ways to get everyone eating more veggies and the perfect flavor boost to my salads. If you’ve never made your own, you have to try this recipe from Cookie and Kate.

It’s one of my favorites… lusciously creamy, smooth, and just the right amount of lemon and garlic.I have to say, making it fresh tastes so much better than anything you can buy in the store… healthier ingredients too! It takes a little time, but it’s seriously delish and worth every minute!

The trick to its creamy, light texture is boiling the chickpeas — dried or canned — until they’re super tender… well, actually mushy.

The other trick… adding baking soda to the water. It raises the pH and helps break the chickpeas down and their skins. It makes the hummus so smooth, it taste like you peeled off all the skins yourself. But thankfully, you didn’t have to. Who has time for that anyway?!

Here are some tips to help you make the best hummus:

1) To save time, use canned chickpeas.
2) Use Trader Joe’s organic tahini – made with Ethiopian sesame seeds. Use 1/2 cup per can of chickpeas.
3) Use ice-cold water – helps make the hummus light and fluffy.
4) Buy lemons and use fresh-squeezed lemon juice – you may even want to add an extra tablespoon before serving.
5) Mince the garlic in the food processor with the lemon juice and let that mixture rest for at least 10 minutes. That removes the harsh, raw bite of the garlic, making it more mellow.
6) Blend a high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil into the hummus and drizzle it on top before serving.
7) Season with ground cumin — it just gives it that something extra special!

THE BEST HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1. cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (if you’re using canned chickpeas)
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1 – 2 lemons), more to taste
1 medium-to-large clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
1/2 cup tahini
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

ADD ANY OF THE FOLLOWING GARNISHES: drizzle of olive oil or zhoug sauce (spicy cilantro sauce), sprinkle of ground sumac or paprika, chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1) Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas by several inches of water, then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, reducing heat if necessary, to prevent overflow, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas look bloated, their skins are falling off, and they’re quite soft. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them for about 30 seconds. Set aside – no need to peel the chickpeas for this recipe!

2) Meanwhile, in a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow, ideally 10 minutes or longer.

3) Add tahini to food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy, stopping to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary.

4) While running the food processor, drizzle in 2 TBSP ice water. Scrape down the food processor, and blend until the mixture is ultra smooth, pale and creamy. If your tahini was extra thick to begin with, you might need to add 1-2 TBSP more ice water.

5) Add the cumin and the drained, over-cooked chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is super smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, about 2 minutes. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary, to achieve a super creamy texture.

6) Taste, and adjust as necessary — I almost always add another 1/4 tsp salt for more overall flavor and another tablespoon of lemon juice for that extra zing.

7) Scrape the hummus into a serving bowl or platter, and use a spoon to create nice swooshes on top. Top with garnishes of your choice and enjoy! Leftover hummus keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.

VARIATIONS
If you’d like to try a variation to this basic recipe, here are some ideas:
– Add 3/4 cup loosely packed fresh herbs
– Add 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (rinsed and drained from a 6.7 oz jar)
– Add 3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
– Add 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds in the hummus and a bit sprinkled on top

So enough reading! It’s time to make the best hummus ever!! I can’t wait to hear what you think!