View Full Version : Good hummous recipes/links?
I think I'm going to take another stab at making hummous tomorrow. The last time I tried it I used CHiense sesame paste (which I later learned doesn't really have the same taste as tahini) and the food processor I was usinng didn't really work very well. I have since obtained a better food processor, and got some real tahini (organic, even!), so I think it is worth trying again. Can someone post their recipe and/or links to same? Thanks in advance!
lhamo
Hi lhamo,
I make hummus often. Maybe we're just boring here, but I use very few ingredients and we love it.
Here's what I do:
I use 2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh)
4-5 large cloves of garlic chopped coarsely
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil (optional)
1 tsp or less salt
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp water, if needed
I put it all in a food processor and mix it smooth. You can add more/less of the garlic and lemon juice. But I really like the lemon/garlic kick.
Some people add 1/2 cup toasted tahini or peanut butter, but I think its just great without it.
I like it with plain pita chips or melba toast.....something with not much flavor, so you can really appreciate the hummus.
I double this recipe and it goes really fast.
I'm getting hungry now. :)
earthshepherd
3-19-11, 12:14pm
I make quite a bit of hummus too. Here's my standard recipe (can add flavors to it)
1 can chick peas OR 1 1/2 cups cooked
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika or more, to taste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2-3 Tblsp water or liquid from the canned beans
1/4 cup tahini
whirl in food processor until smooth. Sometimes I add sauted onions and red peppers.
Well...... I think I probably make hummus more often than Earthsheperd and more of it. :laff: :laff: :laff:
JUST KIDDING with ya Ellen!
I really should try a few little different additions to ours. DD says she loves roasted red pepper hummus. I guess you just add a little to the regular stuff??
I don't use cumin much. What kind of a flavor is it? Is it hot?
**Just a little caution.......sometimes hummus can create alot of gas! :0!**
One time I thought I was doing a good thing by buying organic beans, and I thought I would die later! rrrrr
I'm not sure what makes the difference. They say beans that have been soaked overnight (the dry ones to start with) lose more of their gas, but I'm not sure how to pick good ones out in a can.
Thank you both!
I'm looking forward to lunch.
lhamo
earthshepherd
3-19-11, 10:05pm
LOL Cathy, I couldn't help but notice that your recipe makes a double batch compared to mine, so I'd say you win the hummus prize! I love experimenting with the basic recipe and adding extras. Pine nuts are good in it too.
Cumin is a peppery hot spice -- not terribly hot. I like it but I just use a little because you can overdo the cumin pretty easily.
Happy hummus lhamo.
Making your own tahini isn't hard either and the taste is so much better. Just toast some sesame seeds and grind, even in a blender a little at a time and will make a fantastic tahini. I notice a huge difference in the taste.
OOH -- thanks for the tip on how to make your own tahini, Tiam! Sesame seeds are really easy to find here, and cheap, so I will definitely try making my own. The only tahini I could find easily here is an imported organic type from Australia that costs close to $12.50/bottle for 375g. It is good, but a bit expensive. I could probably make about 5-6 single batches of Ellen's recipe with one bottle. That is still WAAAAAY cheaper than it costs me to get pre-made hummous at the local expat-oriented grocery store. I just made one batch of Ellen's recipe, and it makes at least 2x the amount I can buy for about US$3.50. Really easy to make, too. So to make one batch of my own it will be about $2.50 for the imported tahini and around $1.00 for the beans, plus pennies for the other ingredients. So you have just cut my hummous cost in half, and Tiam's tip will bring it down even more! I am now a happy, frugal hummous eater...
In terms of the recipe, I used the liquid from the can of chickpeas, and it is a bit saltier than I would have liked, but otherwise it is pretty much perfect.
Cathy, I cannot fathom how much hummous you guys must eat! Though with it being this easy, I think I'll be making it a lot. Both DH and DS really like it, and it is an excellent protein-based snack, which I need more of.
Thanks again, everybody! Off to turn the chicken legs...
lhamo
Ellen, we must be real pigs here 'cause I usually double that recipe! But when I make it, I make it for us to snack on for a few days and then give some to both kids to take with them.
Its really healthy. I do use alot of olive oil, but I fool myself into thinking that's good for us too! I also love the toasted pita chips with it. :)
(Actually, unfortunately, there's very little I don't like!)
treehugger
3-21-11, 12:14pm
Making your own tahini isn't hard either and the taste is so much better. Just toast some sesame seeds and grind, even in a blender a little at a time and will make a fantastic tahini. I notice a huge difference in the taste.
Thanks for this tip. I have stopped buying tahini due to cost, but, like lhamo, I can get sesame seeds fairly cheaply. Hummus doesn't actually need tahini to be hummus (I've seen both versions in Middle Eastern cookbooks), but I do like it better that way.
One thing that I have discovered re. hummus is that the taste and texture are vastly improved by cooking garbanzo beans from dried instead of using canned. And I used canned from years and was always happy with them, but once I switched (again, due to cost), I found out I love the results (from dried) so much better that I will never go back to canned.
Kara
Next week I'm planning to try cooking up dried beans. I bought a big bag at the INdian grocery store a few weeks ago -- way cheaper than canned. I think I may also try cutting back on the tahini a bit and maybe using toasted sesame oil and olive oil. That will make my expensive jar of tahini last longer.
I'm also inching toward buying an electric pressure cooker with a stainless steel inner pot. Been meaning to get one for MONTHS to replace our rice cooker. Seems like a wise investment if I am going to be cooking a lot of beans.
lhamo
Hummous tastes even better with home cooked beans!
When you are ready for some variations, consider adding one or more of these diced small or blended in:
Sundried tomatoes
Roasted garlic
Caramelized onions
Pitted olives
Roasted red peppers
What does everyone else like for add-ins?
treehugger
3-24-11, 1:14pm
What does everyone else like for add-ins?
Zaatar is my favorite seasoning to add to hummus, hands down.
I also like fresh cilantro (if I happen to have it) or fresh rosemary (which I always have growing outside my back door).
Gardenarian
3-24-11, 6:40pm
I also use dried garbanzos for hummus. I have a question about cooking them: do you add salt to the water? My dad always said that adding salt to beans will make them tough. True?
My hummus is very un-traditional. I just use beans, olive oil, and lime juice (as we have a huge lime tree.) More of a bean dip than real hummus, but I like it!
treehugger
3-25-11, 12:09pm
I also use dried garbanzos for hummus. I have a question about cooking them: do you add salt to the water? My dad always said that adding salt to beans will make them tough. True?
I have heard and read it both ways, so I think the best way to figure out what works for you is to experiment. I do know that when I started cooking pinto beans from dry, I added salt to the water (per a recipe) and they turned out fine. But then I bought a large bulk bag of beans (25 pounds) and my first 2 batches were tougher. So, I switched to cooking most of the way and then adding salt (per Mark Bittman) and now I have tender beans again.
I added salt to mine once, and it took them FOREVER to cook! I definitely wouldn't add salt to the bean water. My feeble scientific reasoning is that the salt in the water drastically changes the osmolality and water doesn't flow into the beans like its supposed to.
OOH -- thanks for the tip on how to make your own tahini, Tiam! Sesame seeds are really easy to find here, and cheap, so I will definitely try making my own. The only tahini I could find easily here is an imported organic type from Australia that costs close to $12.50/bottle for 375g. It is good, but a bit expensive. I could probably make about 5-6 single batches of Ellen's recipe with one bottle. That is still WAAAAAY cheaper than it costs me to get pre-made hummous at the local expat-oriented grocery store. I just made one batch of Ellen's recipe, and it makes at least 2x the amount I can buy for about US$3.50. Really easy to make, too. So to make one batch of my own it will be about $2.50 for the imported tahini and around $1.00 for the beans, plus pennies for the other ingredients. So you have just cut my hummous cost in half, and Tiam's tip will bring it down even more! I am now a happy, frugal hummous eater...
In terms of the recipe, I used the liquid from the can of chickpeas, and it is a bit saltier than I would have liked, but otherwise it is pretty much perfect.
Cathy, I cannot fathom how much hummous you guys must eat! Though with it being this easy, I think I'll be making it a lot. Both DH and DS really like it, and it is an excellent protein-based snack, which I need more of.
Thanks again, everybody! Off to turn the chicken legs...
lhamo
There are some good tahini recipes online. Pretty much the same. I think you have to add a bit of oil but it is still great. The difference is astonishing. And way cheaper.
I don't consider cumin to be hot at all. It has a very earthy smell to me and a great taste. For those who don't know, it's used a lot in Mexican food. I use tons of it when cooking Middle Eastern.
Has anyone ever frozen hummus successfully? Sometimes I make more than I can eat... Thanks!
I don't see why it wouldn't freeze well. Although it make make it a little watery....but it would still be good.
Maxamillion
4-16-11, 10:11pm
It's been years since I've tried making hummus but reading this thread makes me want to try it again. I don't have tahini but do have sesame oil...is there much difference in the flavor?
Eileen Hughes
7-22-11, 4:38pm
CathyA-
I have made your hummous recipe twice in the past week now and it is delicious! My husband says this rivals his mother's recipe and that is indeed a compliment, as she is an amazing vegetarian cook and he is a picky eater. The lemony-ness of this hummous is what I love the best.
Thanks for sharing!
-eileen
Hi lhamo,
I make hummus often. Maybe we're just boring here, but I use very few ingredients and we love it.
Here's what I do:
I use 2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh)
4-5 large cloves of garlic chopped coarsely
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil (optional)
1 tsp or less salt
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp water, if needed
I put it all in a food processor and mix it smooth. You can add more/less of the garlic and lemon juice. But I really like the lemon/garlic kick.
Some people add 1/2 cup toasted tahini or peanut butter, but I think its just great without it.
I like it with plain pita chips or melba toast.....something with not much flavor, so you can really appreciate the hummus.
I double this recipe and it goes really fast.
I'm getting hungry now. :)
i often use peanut butter instead of tahini. It tastes a bit different, but it is still good. I use nearly any kind of white bean and I cook it from dried.
I LOVE hummus, but the best I've had is at the world food festival here in St.Louis each year. I tried to duplicate it and no luck. I've resigned myself to having fabulous hummus only 1X annually, at this festival.
Hummous tastes even better with home cooked beans!
When you are ready for some variations, consider adding one or more of these diced small or blended in:
Sundried tomatoes
Roasted garlic
Caramelized onions
Pitted olives
Roasted red peppers
What does everyone else like for add-ins?
I've got my sesame seeds ready to roast. No canned garbanzos. Worth it to cook them from dry?
These recipes all look great! I just wanted to add that I recently had a dish in an Israeli restaurant that, as a main course, featured a big plate of hummus in a circular pile with an indentation in the middle. In the indentation, it had fried chicken livers topped with toasted pine nuts and paprika, all drizzled with olive oil. Oh my GOSH, it was so good!
treehugger
7-26-11, 11:51am
No canned garbanzos. Worth it to cook them from dry?
Absolutely! I used to only use canned beans and thought they were fine. But then I switched to buying dried beans (a cost-related decision) and I love them so much more (the texture and flavor is much, much better, IMO) that I will never go back to buying canned beans.
I cook up a bunch of beans at a time (1 pound minimum) either in a crockpot or on the stove, and freeze whatever I don't want to use right away. Barely any less convenient than buying canned.
Enjoy your hummus!
Kara
Just a question about hummus...can it be frozen? You've all inspired me to start making my own again, but I want to make it in large batches and freeze it. I don't know how well olive oil freezes, or if the thawing of frozen hummus would somehow deconstruct it or damage the texture.
treehugger
7-27-11, 12:05pm
It freezes fine. The water separates out a bit, but you can stir it back in (or pour it off; your choice).
Kara
Thanks, Kara! If I had taken the time to read the post just before mine, I would have realized that you already said it can be frozen! (Insert audio file of Homer Simpson exclaiming "Doh!" here.)
treehugger
7-28-11, 11:43am
Thanks, Kara! If I had taken the time to read the post just before mine, I would have realized that you already said it can be frozen! (Insert audio file of Homer Simpson exclaiming "Doh!" here.)
Well, in your defense, :), that post was discussing freezing plain beans, not hummus. But, I have successfully frozen both plain beans (do this regularly), and a couple different kinds of bean dips (do this occasionally).
Kara
Just as long as the bean cooking purist agree that making your own tahini from scratch is equally as worth it!
treehugger
7-29-11, 11:52am
Just as long as the bean cooking purist agree that making your own tahini from scratch is equally as worth it!
:) I actually do want to try it. I have quit buying tahini (due to cost) and my hummus misses it. But I need to seek out a good source for bulk sesame seeds.
Kara
Editing to add that I have tried substituting sesame oil, and I didn't care for that at all. And I can't use peanut butter since my DH is allergic.
Ok, so, I decided to make my garbanzos from scratch. Check. Came out well, made some delicious hummous with homemade tahini. Awesome hummous. Check. I stored the rest in a covered container in the fridge. I just put some in my pasta salad tonight, and the liquid is gelatinous all around the beans. Like consomme. Is that what happens when you cook them at home?
http://knucklesalad.com/hummus-for-dessert-peanut-butter-chocolate-hummus/
chocolate peanut butter hummus
http://knucklesalad.com/hummus-for-dessert-peanut-butter-chocolate-hummus/
chocolate peanut butter hummus
OK, who's going to try this out and report back on it. I don't have any peanut butter.
OK, who's going to try this out and report back on it. I don't have any peanut butter.
I'm so on this. If I don't report back, it means it was good and I was too busy eating it to return to SLN! :~)
I made two batches of hummous this month. Home made chickpeas, not canned. The first batch, I toasted the sesame seeds and made the tahini and roasted garlic and added that. Absolutely awesome hummous. Just devine. The second batch I just lightly browned the sesame seeds. MISTAKE. Any browing definitely imparts a bitter taste to the tahini. I also didn't roast the garlic, though added the same amount. Not nearly as good, but good lesson learned in fine points of mastering a good batch.
I'm so on this. If I don't report back, it means it was good and I was too busy eating it to return to SLN! :~)
Don't waste your time with this one. I made it and found it to be nearly inedible. I didn't really think you could go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate, but you can...by adding chickpeas. Kitchen fail.
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