Aaron's Notes

Aaron's personal notes

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Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 1 standard 15-16 oz can of Chickpeas (you can use dried, but I really don’t recommend it, much more work and result is the same)
  • 1/3rd cup Tahini
  • 1 clove garlic (you can add more to taste, but be cautious; it’s going in as a raw paste and thus has a very strong flavor)
  • 1 lemon
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 Ice cubes (supposedly improves hummus texture)

Instructions:

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile drain and rinse off chickpeas in a strainer.

  2. (Optional) If you massage the chickpeas by hand, you’ll find a thin translucent husk slides off them. Removing and discarding the husks supposedly makes the hummus smoother and creamier, but it’s a lot of manual labor and not strictly necessary. I spend a couple minutes getting most of them off, but can’t be bothered to get 100%.

  3. Dump chickpeas in the boiling water and reduce to a simmer. Simmer about 20 minutes until softened; they should noticeably give in a little when pressed with a spatula. It’s not really possible to overcook them, so if in doubt let them keep going until they’re starting to get obviously mushy.

  4. Drain chickpeas and rinse in cold water.

  5. Convert garlic clove into fine paste.

  6. Add all ingredients to a blender: chickpeas, garlic paste, juice of 1 lemon, 1/3rd cup Tahini, 2-3 ice cubes, salt and EVOO to taste (I like to do about 1 tsp salt, 1tbsp EVOO).

  7. Blend thoroughly. Hummus will be very thick at this point, like peanut butter. Add a small amount of water (about 1tbsp at a time), blend further, check consistency. Repeat with more water until you reach the desired consistency. I usually end up adding about 3-sh tbsp. I like to get it to a point where it pours slowly but easily out of the blender. Whatever your preference, get it slightly more watery than that, because it will thicken a bit as it cools.

  8. Refrigerate until cool, at least an hour. Hummus keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge. For serving, I like to garnish with a drizzle of EVOO and some za’atar (spice blend, not really necessary but it looks and smells nice).