Monday, January 5. 2009

Speckled Hummus

I just got a request for this again on the bulletin board, so I thought I'd post it to make it easy to find. This is a non-traditional hummus, but very tasty and popular. I created the recipe by improving one I got out of The 30-Minute Vegetarian Gourmet in 1991, and have refined it over the 80 or so times I've made it over the last 17 years. In fact, this version is slightly different from the one I posted on CooksIllustrated 3 years ago.

This recipe makes about a quart of hummus. It keeps in the fridge for 7-10 days and freezes reasonably well, though, so there's no reason not to make a bunch and save some for later.

  • 1 large (or two medium) onion, sliced
  • 6-10 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
  • 2 tbs Kalamata olive oil
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or paprika (optional)
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • 3  14-oz cans chickpeas (or fava beans), drained
  • ¾ cup tahini (raw sesame paste)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 3 tsp salt
  • Up to ½ cup Kalamata olive oil
  • Up to 1 cup warm salted water, bean cooking water, or stock
  • Equipment: frying pan, food processor

Heat 2 tbs Kalamata olive oil in the frying pan.  Saute the onions and garlic until limp.  Add the cumin (and pepper or paprika), stir for 30 seconds, then take off heat.  Stir in the parsley, then let cool.

Process the fried onion mixture and most of the other ingredients in 2 or 3 batches in a food processor.

Make sure to have some of all ingredients in each batch, in this order bottom-to-top:  onions & garlic, chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt, ½ of the olive oil.  Process until smooth, adding a little olive oil and a little warm salted water as needed to get a smooth creamy consistency.  Olive oil makes it richer, water makes it lighter.

Serve immediately with toasted pita, or keep in the fridge for up to 8 days, or in the freezer for several weeks.  Smooth the surface and cover with a layer of olive oil for better keeping.
Posted by The Fuzzy Chef in Recipes at 14:32 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
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