Mama's Lebanese Hummus
When I first started this blog, one of the first recipes I posted was hummus. The truth is at the time, my mom was in Lebanon and I was trying to wing it. I wrote down her recipe, but something got lost in translation and it didn't equate to hers. While mine tasted great, the texture was off. I always said that I'll revamp the recipe to the correct one eventually. Well, it's time.
If you hate hummus, then I don't understand you. If you haven't tried it because you think you don't like chickpeas or you don't like "look" of it, then slap yourself in the face. You're really missing out.
Hummus is great with meats, fries, pita and the list goes on. It's very versatile as a side dish. If you're not familiar with hummus, which let's be honest, it's super commercialized now so how can you not be, then allow me to tell you more. It's a delicious Middle Eastern dip made from chickpeas and tahini. In fact, "hummus" literally means chickpeas. Being Lebanese, I grew up with it at dinner table, at barbecues and all big family events. I was blessed you could say. Hummus has really caught on recently in America. We've got million dollar corporations making their own versions of hummus. I've seen so many different varieties too. I've seen stuff like red pepper hummus, black bean hummus, so on and so on. To me, that stuff isn't hummus. Yeah, I'm sure you can grind up everything along with chickpeas in the blender and call it hummus. But to me, there's only one true hummus. It's the one I grew up with and still eat till this day.
This recipe is super easy and so freaking delicious. I promise you, once you make your own hummus, you won't go for the prepackaged stuff ever again.
HOW TO MAKE MY MAMA'S HUMMMUS:
So you can technically make this with the canned chickpeas, but it's much better with the dried ones.
- Place about 1 lb of dried chickpeas in a large tub with cold water and the baking soda and let it sit overnight.
- The next day, drain the water and wash the beans well. Then move the beans to a pressure cooker, which is ideal. Cover the beans with water about ¾ of the way up the pot and cook until it steams or until the beans are tender, but not overdone. If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a pot, cover the beans ¾ of the way and cook for about 2-3 hours, covered, medium low heat until tender, but not overdone. Once they're cooked, strain the water and move to a new bowl and leave it to cool for 10 minutes.
- First, you want to make this in a blender, not a food processor. I don't know if this is one of those Arab myths, but my mom swears that it's creamier if you make this in a blender instead of a processor. First place whole garlic cloves into the blender, then place about 4 cups or 30-35 ounces of the cooked chickpeas in there. (You can make more batches with the rest of the chickpeas or you can do what my mom does. She freezes the cooked chickpeas, once they cool a little more, by placing them in storage bags. They last months in the freezer and you can pull them out and enjoy as you go.)
- Place the lemon juice, salt, tahini and water in the blender and mix.
- Stop mixing after a minute or two and scrape. Continue mixing for another couple of minutes and scrape again.
- If you find the mixture is too thin, add more cooked chickpeas, a cup at a time. If you find it too thick, add some more lemon juice and water.
- Either way, give a taste after the second mixing and decide if it's fine or if it needs more lemon juice or salt.
It's really as simple as that!
- Pour the hummus into a storage container and let it cool for at least an hour before serving.
- There are so many ways you can garnish this. You can use chickpeas, paprika, parsley, mint, radishes, etc.
- One thing that is not optional, is you MUST serve this with olive oil on top. Lots of it. That's the way it's intended to be eaten. Sorry, not sorry Gordon Ramsay. We just didn't put olive oil on top, because this hummus was meant for my brother's party at school and we didn't want to put it on too early. Anyways, enjoy!
MORE GREAT LEBANESE RECIPES:
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Mama's Lebanese Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 LB of Dried Chickpeas
- Baking Soda
- Whole Garlic Cloves
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Tahini
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Place about 1 lb of dried chickpeas in a large tub with cold water and the baking soda and let it sit overnight.
- The next day, drain the water and wash the beans well. Then move the beans to a pressure cooker, which is ideal. Cover the beans with water about ¾ of the way up the pot and cook until it steams or until the beans are tender, but not overdone. If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a pot, cover the beans ¾ of the way and cook for about 2-3 hours, covered, medium low heat until tender, but not overdone. Once they're cooked, strain the water and move to a new bowl and leave it to cool for 10 minutes.
- First, you want to make this in a blender, not a food processor. I don't know if this is one of those Arab myths, but my mom swears that it's creamier if you make this in a blender instead of a processor. First place whole garlic cloves into the blender, then place about 4 cups or 30-35 ounces of the cooked chickpeas in there. (You can make more batches with the rest of the chickpeas or you can do what my mom does. She freezes the cooked chickpeas, once they cool a little more, by placing them in storage bags. They last months in the freezer and you can pull them out and enjoy as you go.)
- Place the lemon juice, salt, tahini and water in the blender and mix.
- Stop mixing after a minute or two and scrape. Continue mixing for another couple of minutes and scrape again.
- If you find the mixture is too thin, add more cooked chickpeas, a cup at a time. If you find it too thick, add some more lemon juice and water.
- Either way, give a taste after the second mixing and decide if it's fine or if it needs more lemon juice or salt.
- Pour the hummus into a storage container and let it cool for at least an hour before serving.
- There are so many ways you can garnish this. You can use chickpeas, paprika, parsley, mint, radishes, etc.
- One thing that is not optional, is you MUST serve this with olive oil on top. Lots of it. That's the way it's intended to be eaten. Sorry, not sorry Gordon Ramsay. We just didn't put olive oil on top, because this hummus was meant for my brother's party at school and we didn't want to put it on too early. Anyways, enjoy!
