Homemade Hummus with Herbs

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It’s worth making hummus from scratch! If you’re bored with the basic flavor of store-bought hummus, jazz it up easily with this recipe. Learn how to make delicious, creamy homemade hummus, seasoned with fresh basil, cilantro and cumin.

It’s so worth making homemade hummus. The taste is AMAZING, really miles away from the stuff you buy in grocery stores, which is often loaded with things you’d rather avoid, like preservatives and lower quality oils like soybean.

Yes, it takes more time than popping a lid off a plastic container. And, if you’re not opting to use canned chickpeas you’ll need to cook them from scratch.

Mediterranean-style hummus

Admittedly, I didn’t always bother making my own hummus until recently.

My life-changing hummus moment happened at a dinner at Zahav in Philadelphia. We had an amazing meal (omg, the lamb!), but later I couldn’t stop thinking about the hummus It was like nothing I’d had before.

For one thing, their hummus recipe contains an abundance of tahini.

Second, it was served warm on a plate, not cold in a bowl alongside raw carrot sticks or broccoli florets like an afterthought. This Israeli-style hummus was almost liquid in consistency, with an incredibly smooth, sensuous texture like whipped cream.

The secret recipe for perfect creamy hummus

I’ve tried different recipes and methods testing hummus, including adding baking soda, and one that required peeling each individual chickpea. I drew a firm line against that one!

If you want to make really good hummus, it should be a fairly simple process. I’ve landed on this recipe, my current favorite.

• Adding fresh herbs like cilantro and basil turn the hummus a lovely pale green, but it’s equally delicious without them if you don’t have any on hand.
• After making so many batches of hummus, I found that using the freshest dried chickpeas and tahini paste is important.
• Drizzling in cold water while pureeing the chickpeas creates a fabulous creamy texture.

Hummus ingredients

The best hummus recipe doesn’t require a ton of ingredients, and it’s often made very quickly in a food processor or blender. Here’s what you need:

• Chickpeas: The freshest chickpeas (garbanzo beans) come from stores with a high turnover. I found these that come in a burlap sack. They’re labeled with the harvest date and the actual field they were grown in.
• Tahini: Look for tahini sauce made from hulled Ethiopian sesame seeds. If your tahini is hard and separated, give it a good shake or stir it up well before pouring it out. I like this brand of tahini because it tastes so good, pours out easily and is priced right.
• Fresh lemon Juice
• Salt
• Garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Herbs, such as fresh parsley, basil, mint and/or cilantro
• Paprika and cumin

Making hummus with canned chickpeas

To make a super-quick hummus, skip the step for cooking chickpeas and use 2 15-ounce cans of drained chickpeas.

Cooking chickpeas in an Instant pot or pressure cooker

An electric pressure cooker is a game-changer when it comes to cooking chickpeas, or really any bean. Here’s how I make them:

1. Put a half pound of dried, unsoaked chickpeas in the pressure cooker pot.
2. Cover with 6 cups water and add 1 teaspoon salt.
3. Cook on high pressure 42 minutes, releasing the pressure naturally.

What to serve with hummus

• For a quick, low-sugar breakfast, spread hummus on whole grain toast, topped with a soft-boiled egg.
• Place a scooped alongside a Mediterranean grain salad.
• Serve as a dip with warm pita bread, pita chips, fresh veggies or crackers.
• Top flatbread with roasted red peppers, arugula, feta and hummus for a tasty lunch or appetizer.

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