Recipe: Victoria’s Amazingly Delicious & Easy Hummus!

I have been working on my hummus game for years and it has taken me quite some time to perfect my recipe. I’m ready to share it with you. My personal hummus recipe is a hybrid derived from traditional middle eastern recipes blended with my own flavor preferences. It can be categorized as smooth and nutty with a tangy kick.

A few things to consider when making hummus…

Dry vs Canned Chickpeas:

I use both interchangeably based on the time available. I used to have this notion that I could only be proud of my hummus if I used dry chickpeas but after many taste tests I notice more of a difference in texture than in flavor. I do alter the recipe a bit depending on which route I take. I use more oil, chickpea juice, vinegar, salt and pepper when using dry chickpeas. In this case, you are starting with a cleaner chickpea juice so you have more room to play around with adjusting the quantities of ingredients. An added bonus of using dry chickpeas and the cooking method below is you get to serve the hummus warm! On the other hand, when using canned chickpea juice there are already a bunch of flavor enhancers so their is less room to play around.

Chickpea Preparation: 

Hummus Recipe With Dried Chickpeas
-Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil
-Add 1lb bag of chickpeas, let boil for a couple of minutes
-Remove from heat and let sit in hot water for 1 hour
-Rinse chickpeas with fresh cold water
-Add chickpeas back to pot, cover in new fresh water and return to boil for another hour or until tender
-Drain and save cooking liquid

Hummus Recipe With Canned Chickpeas:
Open can and save chickpea juice

Roasted Garlic Preparation:

Roasted garlic is an essential part of life this recipe. If you think one bulb of garlic sounds intense then you have never experienced the mellow, nutty awesomeness of roasted garlic. Prepare it while boiling the dry chickpeas or before adding everything into the food processor.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Cut off the top of the garlic bulb  and make sure to exposure the tops of all the cloves
-Place the topless garlic bulb in the center of aluminum foil square cut side up
-Drizzle the top of the garlic with 1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper. (You will use the roasted garlic oil in the hummus – so don’t skimp!)
-Fold foil tightly up around the top of the garlic.
-Place in the center of the oven rack and bake for around 30 minutes
-After the garlic cools, gently squeeze the cloves out of their shells, directly into the food processor with other hummus ingredients

Victoria’s Hummus:

15 oz of cooked or canned chickpeas (prep instructions above)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Tahini
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1-2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar
1 bulb of roasted garlic (recipe above)
Smoked Paprika
Salt & Pepper

Place chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, roasted garlic (make sure to add in all the oil from the foil!), olive oil, rice vinegar and a few splashes of chickpea juice in food processor. You can always add more liquids later, so better to be conservative.

Blend and check consistency and taste.

For super smooth and creamy, add in a bit more oil and chickpea juice.

Add a couples of sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop hummus out of food processor and into serving dish. Drizzle the top with oil and sprinkle paprika.

ENJOY!