Recipe

Hummus

750 g (6–8 servings) · prep 20 min + overnight soak · cook 60 min

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• lunch
• levantine
• vegetarian
• vegan

Authored by the maintainer; method learned from Abu Hassan in Jaffa — chickpeas cooked soft, lots of tahini, ice water.

Ingredients

the chickpeas

• 300 g dried chickpeas
• 1 tsp baking soda (for soaking) + 1 tsp (for cooking)

the paste

• 200 g good-quality tahini, well-stirred — Lebanon tahini mill
• 60 ml fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons) — Sicilian citrus orchard
• 2 small cloves garlic — Tropea allium farm
• 120 ml ice water (or more)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tsp fine sea salt — Trapani salt pans

the finish

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil for serving — Liguria olive mill
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• Reserve a handful of cooked chickpeas for topping

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight (12 hours) in cold water with 1 tsp baking soda. They'll roughly double in size. · 720 min
2. Drain. Place in a heavy pot. Add the second tsp baking soda and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes — the chickpeas will start to smell roasted. · 3 min
3. Cover with fresh cold water by 4 cm. Bring to a simmer. Cook 30–60 minutes, skimming the grey foam and the loose skins that rise. The chickpeas are done when they crush between thumb and finger with no resistance. · 45 min
4. Drain, reserving a few tablespoons of cooking liquid. Reserve a handful of whole chickpeas for topping.
5. While the chickpeas are still hot, blend in a food processor until they form a thick paste. Scrape down. Process another minute — the longer the blend, the silkier the texture. · 1 min
6. Add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin. Pulse to combine.
7. With the motor running, add the tahini in three additions, then stream in the ice water until the hummus is loose, pale, and glossy. Total blend time: 4–5 minutes. · 4 min
8. Taste — adjust salt, lemon, water. The texture should be just-pourable; it firms as it cools.
9. Spread on a plate with the back of a spoon — make a deep well in the middle. Fill the well with olive oil, scatter the reserved chickpeas, dust with paprika, top with parsley.

Notes

Hummus is best at room temperature, within an hour of being made.
Refrigerated hummus tightens and loses some of its top notes — bring
it back to room temperature before serving, and stir in a splash more
oil and lemon.

The "well in the middle" plating is not aesthetics — it's structural.
The well holds the olive oil so it doesn't slide off the plate, and
diners scoop from the edge inward so the last bite is the oiliest.

Eat with warm pita, raw vegetables, or — if you're being authentic
— fresh pita straight from the oven and a small bowl of pickled
turnips on the side.