How to Make the Best Hummus Ever

I just had the startling realization that I may be a hoarder. I’m not hoarding cats, or lint dating back to 1995, I’m hoarding beans. If we want to get technical, I’m hoarding beans and legumes.

"Ok. Now on three I need all the beans to smile and say flatulance."

I love beans, but this is getting a little extreme. I am the proud owner of nearly a dozen different kinds of beans. If we add in the lentils, we start getting dangerously close to 20.

There are also canned beans in case of emergency.

I might have a problem.

Luckily,  I love beans (clearly). I love all kinds of beans (also obvious). I like them in salads, soups, stews and dips. And this is the best hummus you will ever make. I 97% guarantee it. The secret? Starting from dried beans.

I know, I know starting from dried takes longer. You have to soak the beans and cook them rather than just draining a can. After an overnight soak, the beans are cooked in salty water with standard mirepoix (celery, onion, and carrot), 16 cloves of garlic and a few chile de arbol.

Once they start cooking go about your day, but check in on the beans once an hour. Don’t think about rushing the cooking, or saying they’re done before they are anything short of the creamiest beans you have ever eaten.

So, now that you have the best tasting garbanzo beans you’ve ever eaten we can make hummus. You better have saved your cooking water because it is the secret ingredient. We aren’t going to need to add any salt or olive oil to the hummus (except to garnish) as long as we have the cooking liquid.

Go get your beans soaking. You’ll thank me tomorrow.

Update: Jennie will totally vouch that I am not exaggerating how amazing this hummus is. 

Hummus Recipe (printable)
Whenever I make garbanzo beans (any beans really), I cook the whole bag, then freeze it in 2 cup portions with some of the cooking liquid. Then, next time I want hummus all I have to do is defrost the beans. I highly recommend you do the same.

Hummus is also a personal thing. You might want yours to be more garlicky, spicy, lemony, etc., so be sure to taste as you go. There lots of decicious variations of hummus to use your fabulous garbanzo beans in, but this is the perfect basic recipe. Tired of eating hummus on crudite? Try this or this.

2 cups cooked, drained garbanzo beans, cooking liquid reserved (recipe follows)
1/4-1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tahini, well mixed
Juice of 1/2 lemon (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac, plus more for garnishing (optional)

Garnishes: I like olive oil, sea salt, sumac, and parsley. Also good options: pine nuts, feta cheese, kalamata olives, sudried tomatoes...you get the idea.


Place the garbanzo beans, 1/4 cup cooking liquid, garlic, and tahini in the work bowl of a food processor. Blend until the garlic and the beans form a nearly smooth paste. Add the lemon juice, black pepper, cayeene, cumin and sumac. Pulse to combine. Chances are your hummus is looking pretty thick right now. And is lacking in the salt department. WIth your food processor running, add the remaining cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time, until the hummus reaches your desired consistency. 

To serve, garnish as desired, but I highly recommend a drizzle of good olive oil.

Garbanzo Beans
Adapted from The Mozza Cookbook  (I told you I was obsessed)

16 ounces dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, cut into large chunks
1 large celery rib, cut into chunks
2 dried chile de arbol
16 cloves (about 1 big head) garlic, peeled
1/2 yellow onion, cut in half

Drain the beans, and put them in a large pot with enough water to cover them by 1 1/2 inches (4 cm), salt, and olive oil. Place the carrot, celery, chile, garlic and onion in a piece of cheese cloth and tie it into a bundle with kitchen twine. Add it to the pot and bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until the beans are very tender and creamy (It can take from 1 to 4 hours, depending on how old the beans are). If the beans start to look dry, add more water. You never want the beans to be covered by more than 1 1/2 inch of water. Nancy Silverton says so.

When the beans are creamy, turn off the heat and allow the beans to cool in the cooking liquid. Remove and discard the cheese cloth bundle. The beans can be prepared up to this point up to one week in advance and stored in the cooking liquid in the fridge.

The beans can also be frozen in the cooking liquid. I like to do it in 2 cup portions (aka the same as a can of beans).

Comments

[Jennie (the gf-gf)]

How did you know I've been craving hummus lately?! My homemade stuff has never gotten to be smooth and delicious - I hope the cooking water will help. Do you peel the skins off your garbanzo beans? I've heard that can help with texture, too.

[Deanna]

I've heard that rumor too but I've never actually tried it. I would guess that if you have a ricer or a food mill you could run the beans through there and the skins would stay behind and you'd get smooth bean puree to stir the remaining ingredients into. I think that this hummus is smoother than canned (what with the beans being cooked until softer than canned), but its been awhile since I've done anything with canned garbanzos other than roast them.

[kyleen]

I've always wanted to try making my own hummus; the store-bought one always seems to taste a bit off to me, like it's a bit to sour and vinegar-y. Your hummus looks delicious; all I want to do right now is stick my finger into the bowl and lick the hummus clean. Thanks for the great recipe!

For you, it's beans. For me, it's books ;)

[Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella]

there's nothing really like proper home made hummus is there? :)

[Deanna]

Kyleen- I have a ton of books too. I've gotten better recently because the only books I've had time for are textbooks.

Lorraine- No there isn't. Even hummus made from beans from a can is better than store bought. I had some of the latter today. It was kind of icky.

[Culinary Collage]

This looks great....I love hummus!

[Anna @ the shady pine]

I am just a new comer here...hello. .I love hummus and it's one of my favourite dips loaded on some carrot sticks...delicious

[Krista]

Would you believe I just made hummus this morning, then mosied over to my computer and found your recipe! Gah! If only I'd read it first. :-) Ah well. I shall try it next time. My little secret for hummus is using the Ethiopian spice Berebere instead of straight cumin. To. Die. For. :-)

[Deanna]

Krista- I have a jar of Berebere sitting in my pantry that has never been used because I couldn't figure out what to use it in (it was a gift). Now I'm glad I cooked extra beans, because I have to try that.

And don't you hate it when you make something and then see a recipe for it. Especially when the recipe makes the modest claim of being the best.

[Baking Serendipity]

I am loving hummus lately. Beans are much fewer in my pantry...right now I have a serious rice hoarding habit. Beans take the health factor for sure. Oops.

[Deanna]

Baking- we have rice too. I think we only have 7. The beans are definitely more plentiful.

[Em (Wine and Butter)]

Yum yum yum!! I love hummus but I have this weird thing where store bought always tastes better. I think maybe I have some addiction to the emulsifiers or (worse still!!) the vegetable oil. BUT this sounds like a great twist and I WILL give this a try before giving up completely!

[Deanna]

Em-I hope you do. I can't eat store bought hummus anymore. It just tastes like preservatives to me. The caveat to that is I will buy it at middle eastern markets. Theirs is usually pretty good.

[Akhona]

This recipe ientrests me in two ways one, it has been made in a Very Western style using Mediterranean ingredients. There aren’t many Mediterranean recipes around so this one excites me. Hummus style recipes are very tasty for me. Originally meaning chick peas, hummus is very nutritional and quick to do. I make them for spreads but see this recipe introduces me to something new.