This is classic hummus in its purest and simplest form, and my husband would argue that it is best this way. Delicious as a dip with pitta bread and vegetables but also delicious as a component part of a meal. For example, try with Slow Cooked Lamb, Roast Mediterranean Vegetables and Roast Potato with Smoked Paprika or stuffed in Pitta with Chicken Souvlaki or Falafel, Tabbouli and Tatziki. These are all recipes I will be posting, but for now, the most amazing classic hummus!

For further information, please refer back to my Hummus – Core Recipe where you will find detailed instructions and lots of photographs.

Before you start, you need to decide if you want to make a silky smooth hummus, slightly grainy or chunky. All have their merits and people have quite strong opinions about their choice! Unsurprisingly I like all of them but, if I had to choose just one, I would probably choose smooth and silky.

Making hummus is extremely easy and quick. It uses just a few basic store cupboard ingredients and it can be whipped up in a food processor or by hand in just 5 minutes. You just need to:

open and drain a tin of chickpeas
(only cook if wanting to make a very silky texture)
blend with tahini, lemon juice, a little oil, garlic and seasoning
garnish, drizzle with olive oil and serve!

This hummus has been garnished simply with a shake of smoked paprika, some roasted pine nuts, some fresh parsley leaves and a drizzle of very good olive oil. Dive in!

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Classic Hummus

This is hummus in its purest and simplest form, and my husband would argue that it is best this way. Delicious as a dip with pitta bread and vegetables but also delicious as a component part of a meal. Try with Slow Cooked Lamb, Roast Mediterranean Vegetables and Roast Potato with Smoked Paprika or stuffed in Pitta with Chicken Souvlaki, Tabbouli and Tatziki. These are all recipes I will be posting, but for now, the most amazing hummus!

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Nibbles, Snack, Supper

Cuisine Eastern, Lebanese, Middle

Keyword Chickpeas, lemon, Tahini

Servings 4

Author Susan

Ingredients

1 x 400g can chickpeas
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of/baking soda (only if cooking)
48g – 64g/3 – 4 tablespoons tahini (I use 4 tablespoons)
3 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice – roughly 1½ – 2 lemons (I use 4 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon garlic oil or olive oil (*See Recipe Notes)
½ teaspoon Middle East spice powder or use ¼ teaspoon cumin powder and ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed (*See Recipe Notes)
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 – 3 tablespoons iced water or reserved chickpea liquid

Garnish ideas:

Olive oil to drizzle
Smoked paprika
Roasted pine nuts (*See Recipe Notes)
Sesame seeds – black or white
Chopped fresh herbs

Instructions

Smooth and Silky Hummus

Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. Put them into a saucepan with the bicarbonate of soda and add cold water to cover the chick peas by a couple of inches. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. When the chickpeas have cooked and are very soft, drain and run under cold water. Drain well.
Meanwhile, put the tahini, lemon juice, garlic oil, Middle Eastern spice, garlic and salt into the food processor and blitz until thoroughly mixed.
Add the chickpeas to the food processor and blend until smooth, light and velvety.
With the motor running add the iced water or reserved chick pea liquid until you reach your desired consistency.

Grainy:

Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. There is no need to cook them
Meanwhile, put the tahini, lemon juice, garlic oil, Middle Eastern spice, garlic and salt into the food processor and blitz until thoroughly mixed.
Add the chickpeas to the food processor and blend until smooth, light and creamy.
With the motor running add the iced water or reserved chick pea liquid until you reach your desired consistency.

Chunky:

Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. There is no need to cook them.
Meanwhile, measure the tahini, lemon juice, garlic oil, Middle Eastern spice, garlic and salt into a bowl and mix thoroughly mix
Mash the chickpeas with a fork until you reach your desired consistency and stir into the lemon juice tahini mix.
Add the iced water or reserved chick pea liquid and mix well until you reach your desired consistency.

To serve:

Spoon into a bowl, top with your choice of garnishes and drizzle with good quality olive oil.

Recipe Notes

Equipment

Food processor or mixing bowl
Serving dish
Saucepan (if cooking)
Sieve
Measuring spoons
Frying pan to roast pine nuts or chick peas

Oil and Garlic

My preferred choice would be garlic oil and powdered garlic. Normally I like a big hit of garlic, but for hummus, I prefer the softer more mellow flavour of using garlic oil and powdered garlic. Totally up to you – both are gorgeous.

Roasted Pine Nuts

Heat a frying pan over a moderate heat and add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the pine nuts are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and tip into another bowl immediately to stop the cooking process. It will only take 2 – 3 minutes. Do not take your eyes off them though as they burn easily