Shortcut Restaurant-Quality Hummus

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas

6 tbsp tahini

5-6 tbsp. lemon juice

2-3 clove garlic

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika (optional)

  1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse them well. Add the chickpeas to a pot and cover with 2” of water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover, and cook until very mushy and soft, about 30 minutes, up to an hour.

  2. Meanwhile, place tahini, lemon juice, and garlic in a blender, and puree for about 30 seconds. Scrape the sides down, and puree again, repeating as necessary to make a light paste.

  3. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid*. While still warm, add to the blender or food processor with the olive oil, salt, and cumin, and about about 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Blend to desired consistency, adding more cooking liquid as needed to form a creamy paste.

  4. Serve at room temperature, drizzled with more olive oil, and sprinkled with a little paprika if desired.

Tips

  • Adding the warm bean cooking liquid to the hummus is important for making it extra creamy, so make sure you don’t throw this liquid out!

  • Chickpeas can be substituted with other beans or legumes.

Ben Mastracco