Favorite
Omer's Homemade Hummus
Family recipe from Dad Omer
My dad Omer's hummus recipe. Two things make it work every time: cooking the dried chickpeas straight from dry in plenty of water with baking soda until completely soft, and whipping the tahini sauce in the food processor first—getting the seasoning and viscosity right before pulsing the hot chickpeas in at the very end for just ~4 short bursts.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 2 h–2 h 30 min
Method
- Boil the chickpeas (no soaking needed). Put 1 cup of dried chickpeas into a large pot and fill with water to 4–5× the height of the chickpeas—they expand dramatically as they cook. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda, give it a brief stir, and bring to a boil.
- Simmer 2–2.5 hours without stirring. Cover the pot and keep at a steady gentle boil over simmer heat for 2–2.5 hours (there's a wide margin—2 hours 15 minutes, 2.5 hours, etc.—until the chickpeas are very soft). Do not stir them in the middle of cooking.
- Whip the tahini sauce first. Before draining the chickpeas, add to a food processor: 1 teaspoon salt, 4–5 tablespoons lemon juice (or up to 6), 8 peeled garlic cloves, ½ cup olive oil, ½ pack (about 225 g) raw tahini paste, and ⅓ cup of the hot chickpea cooking water.
- Blend, taste, and set the viscosity. Run the food processor for a long time until smooth and emulsified. Taste the sauce—sometimes it needs a bit more lemon or garlic. Stream in more chickpea cooking water until the tahini is at, or just slightly thinner than, your target final hummus viscosity (you can always add more cooking water later).
- Drain and add the chickpeas. Pour off and discard the remaining cooking water from the pot. Set aside a few whole chickpeas for garnish, and transfer all the remaining chickpeas into the food processor right on top of the whipped tahini.
- Pulse ~4 bursts and stop. Pulse the food processor about 4 short times—just until you can no longer see whole chickpeas—then stop immediately. Top with the reserved chickpeas and serve.
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