Paula Wolfert's Hummus

I may never buy hummus again. And after reading this, you may join me. Because once I (and thereby you) figured out how easy, cheap, and ridiculously delicious homemade hummus is, I decided to turn my back on the prefabricated stuff and am never looking back. That's it! I'm done.

This summer, the LA Times ran a story about the best hummus in Los Angeles just weeks after a similar story ran in the New York Times. But what made the LA Times article stand out was its inclusion of Paula Wolfert's recipe for the homemade stuff at the end. Wolfert, one of the goddesses of Middle Eastern cooking, is another kitchen heroine of mine, but it took me a while to actually make her recipe. It's seriously high-yield, producing 4 whole cups worth of hummus. Even if it would prove to be the best version in the world, how would I ever polish off that much?

Well, it turns out that a birthday party is a pretty good place to answer this question, as you'll have at least 20 people avidly digging in to the hummus plate and yet you'll find, after they've all gone home and you are dejectedly cleaning up and thinking that this year's birthday was even better than the last, that you still have some left over. Which, actually, is just fine as these kinds of leftovers are the good kind and after all, how better to end a birthday week than with a smear of hummus on a second loaf of the No-Knead bread? Which, by the way, I baked in my 4-quart oval Le Creuset, thereby discovering that it's the perfect size and shape for this loaf.

You soak a bunch of dried chickpeas overnight (I bought a bag of roasted, dried chickpeas at BuonItalia, just because they looked...nuttier than the regular ones, but who knows if that made a difference), then simmer them in salted water until they're soft. In the meantime, you make a paste out of salt and garlic, then whizz that in a food processor along with sesame seed paste and what seems like an inordinate amount of lemon juice. Trust the recipe, though! Wolfert says the mixture should look "contracted", which meant nothing to me, but I stopped when it looked like this and that turned out to be fine.

Then you add the drained chickpeas and process the mixture until an improbably creamy mass starts to form. Depending on how loose you like your hummus, you can add cooking liquid and lemon juice. It keeps in the fridge for a few days, though you'll have to add some more water and lemon juice to loosen it up a bit (and let it come to room temperature, because the flavors totally bloom then). I sprinkled mine with paprika and drizzled it with one of the delicious oils in my Alejandro & Martin sampler.

A more appetizing plate of hummus I never did see. And the taste! Fresh and creamy, with a nutty flavor and grassy notes from the oil. The hummus had heft, but was also airy from all the processing. I'm telling you - after you make it, you'll never want storebought hummus again. I'm so glad I tried this recipe. It's like a birthday present from Paula herself. Thanks, Paula!

Hummus
Makes 4 cups

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, and more to taste
Cayenne or hot Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Rinse the soaked chickpeas well and drain them before putting them in a saucepan and covering them with plenty of fresh water. Bring to a boil; skim, add one-half teaspoon salt, cover and cook over medium heat, about 1 1/2 hours, until the chickpeas are very soft (you might need to add more water).

2. Meanwhile, crush the garlic and one-half teaspoon salt in a mortar until pureed. Transfer the puree to the work bowl of a food processor, add the sesame seed paste and lemon juice and process until white and contracted. Add one-half cup water and process until completely smooth.

3. Drain the chickpeas, reserving their cooking liquid. Add the chickpeas to the sesame paste mixture and process until well-blended. For a smoother texture, press the mixture through the fine blade of a food mill. Thin to desired consistency with reserved chickpea liquid. Adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. The hummus can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.) Serve, sprinkled with paprika and parsley and drizzled with oil.

Comments

[Meghan]

I've been making hummus with canned chickpeas for a couple of years now - you can use the can "juices" in place of cooking liquids, I imagine. Makes it even easier!

[shauna]

Yay for homemade hummus. I started making it after I found I had to go gluten-free (everything from scratch, you know), and I can't imagine eating one from a tub again. So good.

Using canned chickpeas may save time, but the dried ones brought to life makes for a much better taste.

[Melissa]

It's so easy, isn't it? And SO much better than store-bought. When I was an undergraduate there were weeks when I survived on nothing but a gallon of hummus and a jumbo pack of pita bread!

p.s. Happy Birthday!!!

[Molly]

OH! Brandon is going to be SO excited about this. The man is a hummus fiend. When we first met, he was living essentially on a diet of pita bread and Sabra hummus. He has now weaned himself - the move to Seattle, where Sabra is hard to find, has helped - but oh MAN, is he ever going to be excited about this. Thank you, ma cherie.

[Lia]

Wasn't hard to sell me on this one! I love hummus and have never even thought to make it myself (since that Sabra that Molly mentioned really is so good!). I also live near Sahadi's which has a great tone too, but I'm definitely making this.

Funny you should mention the bread. I haven't done the no-knead again but I did make the Nigel Slater one again last night (this time with salt) and it's GOOD!!!

[Lydia]

Once you've made your own hummus (and adjusted the garlic to be just the amount you like), you can never go back to store-bought, even if you're buying from a very good store.

Happy birthday!

[Lucy]

I've just discovered your fascinating blog - what a great concept!

Thanks for encouraging people to make their own hummus - if only more folk knew how absurdly easy it is...
My Lebanese-chef ex-husband taught me how to make it and even though we're not married any more I NEVER buy the stuff and ALWAYS make it myself.

As with most Middle Eastern recipes every single cook has their own method which they swear is the correct and only way to success! But here are another couple of useful tips that I've learnt:

1. If using dried chickpeas, add a generous tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda to the water as you soak them - it really helps break them down.

2. Rinse them very very thoroughly before boiling.

3. Don't be alarmed if the chickpeas take forever to cook and soften. Depending on how old they are, it can take up to 2 hours. And you really want to boil the bjeezus out of them - they should pretty much disintegrate to a porridge-like mush. Oh, and you may also need to top up the water every now and then; don't let the pan boil dry.

4. As you note in your post, the hummus thickens considerably as it cools, so wait until it's cooled completely, THEN taste and adjust the balance until it pleases you thinning with a little more lemon juice or water as needed.

5. Yes, canned chickpeas do make the whole process quicker - but the can juices tend to be a bit 'tinny' and unpleasant, so I always rinse them very well before blitzing.

[Luisa]

Meghan - canned is better than nothing, though the dried ones just taste so completely different than canned chickpeas! So much richer and better, somehow.

Shauna - glad you agree!

Melissa - thank you. Ahh, the days of student life and the monotony of our diet ;)

Molly - well, Sabra is pretty fantastic stuff. I remember when I first discovered it and thinking I'd never eat a different kind of hummus again. Well, but now I changed my mind ;) I hope you both enjoy it!

Lia - salt in bread: good! Hee. Was your mother-in-law duly impressed by your bread-baking ability?

Lydia - thank you so much.

Lucy - I'm so glad you like the blog! Your tips are very helpful, thank you for listing them. The baking soda thing I've heard about before but have never tried.

[Homesick Texan]

Happy birthday!

After you start making your own hummus, it almost seems criminal to buy it--never as tasty and crazy expensive. I admit, most of the time I also go the easy route and use canned garbanzos, but when you start from scratch you can definitely taste the difference.

And three cheers for BuonItalia--one of my favorite stores! So many fantastic treats in such a small space.

[Carolyn T]

Oops - there's a typo - you forgot one thing in the list of ingredients - it must be 1 1/2 POUNDS of dried chickpeas? Surely it's more than 1 1/2 CUPS.

[Luisa]

Lisa - thank you! I'm so glad you love BuonItalia, too. It's a treasure trove!

Carolyn - nope, no typo. 1 and 1/2 cups of dried chickpeas is right.

[Julie]

Happy birthday, Luisa!

I'm inspired. I like hummus but rarely buy it. But after reading your thoughts and the rest of the comments, I'm ready to make it.

[caroline]

Anyone tried making hummus with frozen chickpeas, like the ones they sell at Trader Joes?

[Tanna]

Our son converted me to homemade. Why is homemade so much better? It is!
The picture of the no-knead is beautiful!! And oh it would be so good with hummus on it.

[Mercedes]

So glad you discovered what others are missing. I always said lots of lemon juice was one of the secrets of Arab cooking. Here's another tip:

Rub the chickpeas together before cooking them so that their skins come off. Chickpeas in the Middle East are really different than the way chickpeas are done here, cooked to be meltingly soft. Getting rid of the skins will help get a really smooth texture.

P.S.- If you have to go the store boguht route, Kalustyans makes their own and it's acceptable.

[Leland]

Looks delicious! I wonder if it's possible without a food processor. I occasionally buy hummus for picnics, and I feel ridiculous spending $2.99 or more on such cheap ingredients. Happy birthday (whenever it is)!

[Luisa]

Julie - thank you! And hooray for hummus inspiration.

Caroline - I've never even seen frozen chickpeas before! But maybe someone else here has?

Tanna - thank you, I'm quite in love with that loaf myself. So pretty! So tasty.

Mercedes - between the hummus and another Middle Eastern dish I made, I used up something like 5 lemons! Delicious. I wonder if my toasted chickpeas had already lost their skin? There didn't seem to be anything to rub off...

Leland - do you have a blender? Or immersion stick blender? Or a food mill? And thank you, my fellow Sag...

[eg]

I have tried frozen green chickpeas from Trader Joe's and they were not good at all. I tried all ways of cooking them and never got them to turn out nicely. The taste was also a bit funny. I've been known to happily eat chickpeas right out of the can sometimes so, obviously, I'm not very picky but the green ones were very disappointing.
My 2 cents....

[kevin]

I use a somewhat tweaked version of the recipe in one of the Silver Palate cookbooks and typically make about four cups. It's good for around four days kept in the fridge -- then I have to make more.

[Tina]

Hummus is so easy to make that buying store brands seems like a waste. I put chickpeas in a crockpot with salted water and cook them overnight. The next day, they are perfect for making hummus. Extra garlic and lemon for me!

[John Hutchison]

In the recipe it says "1 1/2 dried chickpeas.." This translates to "1 1/2 cups" right? Is this a guy thing?

[Coyote]

If you love Paula Wolfert you will love this cassoule and her cassoulet recipe.

[Luisa]

John - goodness, I didn't realize I'd forgotten to write "cups" in! Yes, it's 1 and a half cups of dried chickpeas and no, it's not a guy thing, it's a scatterbrained me thing. :)

[Colin]

This hummus, it looks amazing. It makes me wish I had a food processor... hm!

[shelly]

A little tip on presentation: make a well in the mound of hummus using a large spoon. Turn the spoon around a few times to smooth out the hummus and widen the well. Then pour a nice olive oil into the well. Season with paprika, or sumac, or za'atar spice mix. Alternatively, spoon some hot "ful" (fava beans) into the well. Use a fresh, hot pita to mop up the hummus.

This is how most hummus joints in Israel serve their hummus.

[deb]

Oh, success! Success! This is absolutely wonderful. The fresh chickpeas have a ton of flavor and takes wonderfully to my favorite pairing, carrot sticks. And now I have to get back to it, lest my husband eat them ALL.

[Bob Foonman]

I have been making hummus similar to this for years and my friends tell me it's the best they have ever tasted. Here are my modifications.

1. I cut back on the fresh garlic by one third and add an equal amount (or more) of Williams-Sonoma Roasted Garlic Puree. This takes the "edge" off the fresh garlic and adds the wonderful taste of roasted garlic without the hassle of making it.

2. When the above recipe calls for the addition of "reserved chickpea liquid or water" I use hot liquid which seems to emulsify the tahini, garlic and olive oil into a much smoother consistency and the flavors blend better.

3. The recipe says to press the mixture through the fine blade of a food mill for a smoother texture. For the many "Sabra" fans out there, this will give you a consistency similar to theirs when combined with the hot liquid tip above but you lose some of the roughage in the final product. As chickpeas are so healthy to begin with, that's a matter of personal choice.

[Weight Healthy]

mmmmmmmmmmmm... it looks so god!! delicious!!! entiscing!! yummy!!!

[jaya]

why nobody mentions cooking chickpeas in the pressure cooker?

[Bob Foonman]

Jaya asks, "why nobody mentions cooking chickpeas in the pressure cooker?"

Because most purists don't use them. Cooking chickpeas in a pressure cooker would be like cooking pasta in a pressure cooker. You may save some time but just as with pasta, the only way to know when the chickpeas are exactly ready is to keep tasting them.

[Alexandra]

Please don't add Baking Soda to the beans as they cook. Many people do this to all sorts of beans while cooking because it softens the beans up quickly...it also takes all the nutrients out of the beans! If you want to ensure that the beans soften...take out the salt from bean cooking water. Add the salt later.

[Katie]

I used this recipe, and my boyfriend fell in loooove! My last roommate was Syrian and took pride in her homemade hummus, but he says this one is far better! Tastes best after the flavors have blended for a day.

[Rinky]

this is fantastic. sesame seed paste is not easily available where i live. is it possible to make it from scratch?

[Luisa]

Rinky - I'm sure that you could make sesame seed paste (also known as tahini) from scratch. I've never done so myself, but a simple Google search for "homemade tahini" turned up quite a few results. Good luck!

[ROB]

Try adding a handful of sun dried tomatoes to the mix,and a few sprigs of parsley including stalks. When all blended together,it tastes amazing. When serving put an equal amount of plain hummus and this version together. The mix of colors looks great, and people tend to scoop up half and half more than concentrating on one or other.

[arzu]

well coming from where hummus actually originated i know for a fact that 'hummus isn't hummus without tahini', sorry

[Carolyn Blakeney]

This is the only hummus recipe I ever make. Hummus is so easy to make, it's just foolish to buy it unless you are starving and need food immediately. I look around for new tweaks from time to time (that's how I found your post) but keep coming back to Paula's definitive version.
I like to add a good amount of cumin and Aleppo pepper, but not overdo the lemon. Also, although I love garlic, I've found that adding two cloves at the beginning, tasting, and increasing one clove at a time saves the dish if the garlic happens to be somewhat bitter.
And if you are in a hurry and want an even quicker result, just dump it all in the food processor and blend away. It still works, just won't be as refined.

[Aiko Yamamoto]

Once too much garlic is added resulting in bitterness, how can you correct it?

[Rachel]

Luisa, I came across your blog and this recipe yesterday when on a whim I decided to look into making hummus since I've been eating it every day lately. I loved the recipe and I'm sure I'm going to love coming back here for more of your take on recipes.

[Shooky]

Dear Luisa,

Welcome to the family of hummus makers... :)

I'm very glad to finally come across an online hummus recipe that does not include red peppers, dried tomatos or mango...

One important correction, though: you shouldn't add salt to the cooking water because it keeps the chikpeas from softening.

In order to get a consistent hummus, the chickpeas should be cooked in fresh water, or fresh water with a little baking soda (this is especially true if your using "hard water", like tap water is in most cities in the world today).

Also, "sesame seed paste" is called Tahini. I believe using the proper name will be very helpful for your reader when looking for it.

Make lots of hummus!

[e.lynch]

Looks great. I make it also, but instead of dry chickpeas I use a tin of cooked chickpeas, it makes the whole process a lot quicker.

[Randy Rosenthal]

Good Recipe. I suggest even more garlic. Watch this fun Hummus video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORJvp_rObVc

[john]

Has anyone frozen hummus in small batches?
I'm thinking about making and selling hummus at the local 'Saturday market' and would need to pre prepare it first.
I make different flavors. The always use the basic recipe then add things like roasted red peppers and roasted garlics. In one I use cumin and finely chopped cilantro.

[h]

I love Shop Hummus.... I tried makin them... ugh... It turned out as a disaster!!!

[Sarah]

mmmmmmm,,,,,,,,, hummus.... love it!!!
Especially when it's fesh..... ahhhh!!!
From shops!!!

[Betsy]

Easy Sweet Tomato Hummus
1 can chickpeas drained
2-5 T of Tahini (sesame seed paste) go by your tastes
1 T Raw Honey
3-4 T Olive oil
3-4 Tablespoons Salsa (hot, mild whatever your taste
2-4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil or rehydrated in 3 Tb of olive oil
1 t.Lemon Juice or Lime Juice
Mix all ingredients but salsa and Sun dried tomatoes. Chop sun-dried tomatoes. put hummus base, salsa, and chopped tomatoes in mixing bowl and mix together.
Put in a serving bowl. Make a swirl from center for effect. drizzle a little olive oil in the swirl. Add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes on top for presentation. serve with warm pita bread triangles or chips.

[bill nother]

doesn,t take long to skin the can of chickpeas ans it sure cuts down on the flatulence..completely!

[Kai]

How long will this last in the fridge? can you email me the reponse thanks

[M. Griffith]

I have found that chickpeas soften if you ferment them in filtered water and 2 tablespoons of whey for 24 hours. Pour that water off! I have even substituted Great White Northern beans for the chicks when they were not available, which makes a very mild tasting hummus. PLEASE tell me if you have ever FROZEN hummus for as long as 4 to 6 weeks. Thanks! MGM