hummus

Origins

Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. The standard garnish in the Middle East includes olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, parsley, and paprika.

Hummus

Ingredients

Method

  1. Make the Tahini Sauce
  2. Make the Confit Garlic Oil
  3. Set about 100 grams of the cooked chick- peas aside in a small bowl.
  4. Add the remaining chickpeas, tahini paste, 8 of the confit garlic cloves, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and the lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the ice water
  5. until completely smooth and aerated. You may have to add slightly more water to reach the desired texture. Taste and adjust for seasoning if necessary.
  6. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of Confit Garlic Oil, and a pinch of salt to the bowl with the reserved chickpeas, and stir to combine. Set aside.
  7. Transfer the hummus to a shallow platter and smooth it out with the back of a spoon, creating a slight well in the center. (It’s okay if the hummus is a little runny; hummus will set as it cools.) Spread the Tahini Sauce into the well, then spoon the herbed chickpea mixture over the top of the tahini. Top the dish with the remaining confit garlic cloves along with some of the aromatics in the jar (thyme and chili). Finish with a drizzle of Confit Garlic Oil.

Basic Chickpeas

The key to lip-smack- ing hummus? Cooking your own chickpeas. The first ingredient? Baking soda. Use a bit to soak dried chickpeas a day in advance, which helps break down the legume's skin. This allows them to absorb more mois- ture, ultimately making for a softer, smoother hummus. (If you really want to skip this step, there are a few high-quality canned chickpea brands. Look for ones from Spain or Portugal.) Cook times can vary greatly—as little as 30 minutes or up to 1 hour—depending on a number of factors, including age and the freshness of the pea. For hummus, it's important to boil the chickpeas until they can easily be squished be- tween your fingers, ensuring a smooth blend. And only add salt in the last 15 minutes of cooking; if you season chickpeas too early, they wont ever soften.

Ingredients

  • 200 g dried chickpeas
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt

Method

  1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in a large bowl with enough cold water to cover by several inches, plus 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
  2. Drain and refresh, then add to a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 to 3 inches and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for at least 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes, skimming the top as necessary, until soft enough to crush between two fingers. Remove the lid, add the salt, and continue to cook for 15 minutes to season the chickpeas. Drain and set aside until ready to use.

Tahini Sauce

Tahini is something that runs in the veins of the people in the Middle East. This paste made from ground toasted sesame seeds is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern cooking, with some families using it at every meal. Tahini is made from sesame seeds that are toasted, and ground to produce an oily paste.

Ingredients

  • 60 g tahini paste
  • 1 1⁄2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • A pinch of salt, or to taste
  • 3 tbsp water, plus 1 tsp water, or as needed

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients except the water in a bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add the water while whisking until the mixture is smooth and pourable. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
  2. Set aside at room temperature if using soon, or refrigerate in a sealed container if making ahead. Tahini Sauce keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Confit Garlic

This is the ideal con- diment to have on hand anytime you want to add a warm, mellow garlic flavor to a dish. Cooking the cloves slowly leaves them slightly sweet—perfect as a garnish or for mashing into a confit. You also get a lovely garlic-infused oil that can be drizzled over salads or used for dipping bread. You can play with this recipe by adding other aromatics to the oil (sage leaves, or orange or lemon skin). Feel free to double or triple the recipe, too: Cook the garlic in an ovenproof pan at 120°C/250°F with enough oil to submerge the cloves. Seal the pan tightly with foil, and cook until the cloves are soft and very lightly colored. Store the cloves in their oil in an airtight jar at room temperature for several weeks.

Ingredients

  • 12 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 6 thyme sprigs
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 200 ml olive oil
  • Salt

Method

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce- pan over medium-low heat. Cover and cook until the garlic is soft and just begin- ning to color, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  2. Leave the lid on, remove from the heat, and set aside for 10 minutes; the garlic will continue to cook in the heat of the oil.
  3. Strain the oil into a clean glass jar and spoon in the garlic, thyme, and chili. Once cool, transfer everything to an airtight, sterilized jar and store at room tempera- ture for several weeks.
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