Hummus: Additives, Techniques, Recipes

[blueapron]

You could probably just sweat a couple of cloves in oil to mellow them out before adding to the chickpeas, but roasted sounds tastiest to me.

[Comfort Me]

Is there anything stopping you from making the hummos sans garlic the day before and adding the garlic the morning of the event? It's a simple solution, and I can't think of why it wouldn't work. You'd get the advantage of doing the hard part ahead of time and get the flavor of fresh garlic.

[eatrustic]

Good point on the later garlic addition. ...the simplest solutions....it may not have time to marry the flavors but should be interesting.

I'm going to try that as well as a roasted garlic version so that I've got some trials for the files! Thanks.

[Bicycle Lee]

I vote for the roasted garlic. I too understand that sometimes the raw garlic flavor can be a little overpowering and detracts from the bean and oils that are very important flavors in hummus. Roasting takes that spicy edge off of garlic and leaves a smooth flavor...if you didn't already know. I used canned garbanzos...they work fine. I would also say that adding the garlic later isn't a great idea necessarily...one good thing about making it ahead of time is that the flavors "mature" together and blend. But the is just IMHO

[Suzanne F]

I posted a recipe on eGRA for High-Test Hummus. It includes raw garlic, roasted garlic, and garlic oil. If you cut down the raw, or leave it out completely and up the roasted, you'll have a decaf version. Have a look and see what you think.

[Samhill]

Damn fine recipe, Suzanne, thank you!

Eatrustic, roast the garlic, add some fresh before serving seems like a winner.

[Suzanne F]

Thank you. Well, everyone -- all eGulleteers -- who ate it liked it.

And lived through the night.

Me, I love garlic.

[snowangel]

Me, I love garlic.

Me, too. I used to make a good hummus. Now, I follow your guidelines, notorious stickler.

This recipe reminds me of a lunch I had many years ago at the late, great New French Cafe in Minneapolis. It was a salad, and when my co-worker and I quizzed the server about it, she stated "it is a three day garlic commitment." Sure enough, when Paul picked me up from work that day, and gave me a quick kiss in the car, his comment was "so just what did you have for lunch today." Said co-worker, also picked up from work by hubby, reported exactly the same thing.

Garlic is good. In the same league as Bacon or Pork Fat.

[Baklava Jenny]

I know this post hasn't been active for a while, but...

The recipe that Rachel has suggested above is actually great as a sauce for grilled seafood. The sauce is called "Taratour" and has nothing to do with chick-peas or hummus; it's a sauce that is used in falafels, shawarma or whole grilled fish. The consistency tends to be heavier for falafel and shawarma whereas it could be lighter and more lemony for fish. [You could also add finely chopped parsley to it too]

←

Yes, we would often serve tahini this way with seafood and make a delicious meal out of it.

[Behemoth]

I had to jury-rig my own tahini for the first time over the holidays. We were visiting my in-laws in rural north germany and there was no tahini to be found. Toasted sesame seeds, a mix of sesame and (mostly) veg oil into a blender until liquid. The hummus came out particularly well, great sesame flavor. At least, what little of it there was left for me to taste...

My only "secret" is I like to use a food mill when I have the time, it takes off the chickpea skins and makes the texture lighter.

[Baklava Jenny]

Behemoth...

Would a potato ricer work as well? What a wonderful idea-my mother and I have often discussed an option to peeling each garbanzo individually. I hope this will work. Although it is great fun when the garbanzo bean flies through the air and hits another spot.

And toasting the sesame seeds to make your own tahini...I like that too! I'll be trying this.

[Behemoth]

Behemoth...

Would a potato ricer work as well? 

With a small disk it would be worth trying -- the only problem I could see might be that it would get clogged up a lot. With the food mill you just reverese direction to loosen up the holes. The food mill, BTW (having cost all of $11) has definitely earned its storage space in our kitchen.

[Baklava Jenny]

Ahhhhhhhhhh...lovely! Now, I can righteously purchase another gadget for my kitchen. I already have a ricer and it can be put to good use.

Really gadgets should only be used for one thing to be gloriously extravagant.

But one must have creamy and smooth hummus.

[Swisskaese]

Personally I do not think Hummus with out Tahini is the "real" hummus even though the word itself (hummus) means Chickpeas.  There needs to be some Tahini to get the right taste. I use about 3 tbsp per can of chickpeas, 2 garlic cloves, juice of two or three lemons, salt, cumin and about 2tbsp water or even more to get the consistency just right (like smooth guacamole) and plunk it all in the food processor, but if I add too much lemon juice because the lemons are not too tart I sometimes skip the water all together. drizzle with EVOO and enjoy.

On the other hand I HATE this hummus you find at some middle eastern restaurants where all you taste IS the Tahini. They are a disgrace to this wonderful dip.

FM

←

Amen and Amen

[Jason Perlow]

Hummus without Tahini is simply Revithosalata.

With one exception: on the Greek island of Rhodes which is close to Turkey, Revithosalata contains Tahini. So in which case, its the same thing.

[chefzadi]

RE FOODMAN: Personally I do not think Hummus with out Tahini is the "real" hummus even though the word itself (hummus) means Chickpeas

_______________________________________________________________________

In Algeria we make a chickpea puree without tahini. And we call it hummous.

Edited January 12, 2005 by chefzadi (log)

[FoodMan]

RE FOODMAN: Personally I do not think Hummus with out Tahini is the "real" hummus even though the word itself (hummus) means Chickpeas

_______________________________________________________________________

In Algeria we make a chickpea puree without tahini. And we call it hummous.

←

chefzadi-

Welcome to egullet!

Your comment brings up a good point concerning "hummus". In Lebanon when oprdering this dish you would not order "hummus", instead you would order "hummus bil tahini" (translation : chickpeas with tahini). If you simply order "hummus" it will be like telling the waiter at Chili's that you want a side of "potatoes". My reply was really to the way this dish is known in the US, as simply "hummus".

In Algeria would the dish you mentioned simply be called "hummus"?

Elie

[chefzadi]

RE FOODMAN: Personally I do not think Hummus with out Tahini is the "real" hummus even though the word itself (hummus) means Chickpeas

_______________________________________________________________________

In Algeria we make a chickpea puree without tahini. And we call it hummous.

←

chefzadi-

Welcome to egullet!

Your comment brings up a good point concerning "hummus". In Lebanon when oprdering this dish you would not order "hummus", instead you would order "hummus bil tahini" (translation : chickpeas with tahini). If you simply order "hummus" it will be like telling the waiter at Chili's that you want a side of "potatoes". My reply was really to the way this dish is known in the US, as simply "hummus".

In Algeria would the dish you mentioned simply be called "hummus"?

Elie

←

First of all, thank you for the warm greeting!

Yes it would be simply called hummus. They have other names for it also depending on the region of Algeria you are in. I've never seen tahini used in traditional Algerian cooking. So in Algeria you ordered "hummus bil tahini" you would get some blank stares.

But you are correct, in the US hummus usually includes tahini.

[lmarshal1]

We are trying to add more beans and grains to our diet. What is a good recipe for hummus? I expect there have been some discussions of this before, but I couldn't find a thread devoted to it. Is it pretty good just made with canned chickpeas/garbanzos? I tried a can from Trader Joe's that was labeled "organic" and did think they were pretty good in my Italian bean soup (recipe in www.beanbible.com) but what about using it in hummus? Thanks. lkm

[Jason Perlow]

Personally, I have not really seen a major difference between brands of canned chickpeas -- Be it Trader Joes, Goya, Progresso, or even generic supermarket brand stuff. They all come from essentially the same strain grown in the Americas and have essentially the same texture as well. If you can find middle eastern brands of canned chickpeas you should try them.

Hummus is really a trial and error thing and you have to make it according to personal taste. You want to have good extra virgin olive oil -- and olive oils depending on the producer and country of origin can vary tremendously in flavor. Greek Olive oil is very good in hummus, and I also like Sicilian. Then you have to consider the Tehina -- Israeli tehina is very good, but so are the Turkish, Egyptian, and Lebanese brands, if you can find them. Then there is the domestic stuff like Joyva. Personally, I prefer the Israeli or other middle eastern stuff over Joyva.

In addition to the olive oil and tehina you want a nice amount of fresh lemon juice as well as a good amount of garlic. I personally like a lot of lemon juice and garlic in my hummus, and you'll want to add a decent amount of salt and pepper as well, and some cumin. I also like adding some good Spanish or Hungarian smoked paprika to it.

Finally, there are the "optional" elements such as sun dried tomatoes, olives, capers, hot chili peppers, etc which are blended in. For condiments I like chopped ripe tomatoes, chopped bell pepper and chopped cucumber -- this combination is also known as "Israeli Salad" when mixed together, and if you want to get fancy you can add crumbled feta to it, in which case it becomes Shepherd Salad.

Texture is also another consideration -- Israeli-style hummus is very creamy, whereas the arabic countries are a bit more pasty in texture. Again, its a personal preference thing. Texture is going to vary depending on how much olive oil you put in and how far you go with your blender or food processor. After the hummus is mixed up and the texture is where you want it, I like ot serve it with some olive oil drizzled on the top, with some chopped parsley and another dusting of paprika.

BTW the tips above also apply to Babaghanoush.

[lmarshal1]

Thanks, Jason. That was fast! Reminds me a bit of the time I asked here for a recipe for guacamole and found that it can be done a zillion ways. Now what is the tehina?

I've never even tasted hummus, but I've always liked garbanzos, even straight out of the can, but especially on salads and in soups. lkm

[Jason Perlow]

Tehina/Tahina (also Tahini) is a critical element of Middle-Eastern style hummus. Its sesame paste.

Greek Hummus, or Revithosalata, doesn't have Tehina in it. Or at least it doesnt unless you eat it on Rhodes, which Paula will tell you. :)

The Italians also make a fairly basic chickpea dip similar to hummus, but I think it only has chickpeas and olive oil in it, with perhaps some garlic.

[snowangel]

There are a couple of recipes for hummus on RecipeGullet. If anyone wants to post additional recipes, please do so, but in RecipeGullet and link them to this topic!

In addition, there is this topic on hummus. And, this one.

A couple of notes. I have made hummus so often I don't measure anything anymore, but sumac is a most worthy addition. And, last time I made it, I cut way back on the raw garlic and added a mess of roasted garlic. When I drain the beans, I save the liquid to use for thinning out, if necessary.

Finally, last time I made it, Peter (age 9) was bored, so he slipped the skins off the beans. I don't know that it made much of a difference in the end product, but it kept him occupied. Easiest way to skin them is in a bowl of water, rub then around, and the skins rise to the top of the water.

[lmarshal1]

Thanks, snowangel, for all the information. Sounds like I can "play" with hummus the same way I played with guacamole the first time I made it: try a basic recipe and then add "stuff" that we like in order to experiment with what goes over best.

A question about sesame paste and sesame oil. What is the shelf life of these things? I bought a little bottle of sesame oil and though it was fine for the first couple uses, it was horrible within a couple months, practically gave off fumes. Will the Tahini keep? I liked the idea on one of the threads you listed of making a sort of Tahini with toasted sesame seeds and oil so that it was fresh. Also, I liked the addition of a bit of plain yogurt. Will experiment with all this. Thanks again. lkm

[snowangel]

I keep sesame oil in the fridge, but not tahini. I get my tahini at a Middle Eastern grocery with high turnover, so I don't even have to stir it, and it keeps fine on the shelf, but I usually buy the smaller jars, because I am cupboard impaired. Reminder that this is not the same stuff as you get in Asian markets, also called sesame paste; the Asian version is made with toasted sesame seeds.