Hummus recipes!

[Lord Perennialist]

I don't know if their is a hummus thread or not... but for the sake of redundancy I will start another.

For me, hummus is a staple of the vegan diet. I eat it with almonds and spinach in sandwiches, use it as a dip for pita or tortilla chips, or mix it in with rice and some other vegetables to make a stir fry. What are your hummus recipes?

One I just created today... spicy habanero hummus.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 habanero peppers

Preparation:

Put everything but the garlic cloves and habaneros in a blender. Fry habaneros and garlic in skillet with canola or olive oil on medium heat for about five minutes. Add to the rest of the ingredients. Blend for about five minutes. Put in container. Add shallow depression in the middle. Sprinkle almonds on top and add a dash of olive oil.

Makes an extremely hot, but excellent, hummus that is good with about almost anything.

[Cherry]

Looks good. I haven't made hummus for ages and have been thinking about getting some tahini so I can start making it again.

Well, there's this one, if you're interested: hummus

edit: I like the look of these tips of Korn's ...

It seems that among the few 'secret' ways to make really good hummus, these seems to be the Top Ten of hummus tips & tricks:

Add a very small amount of cayenne pepper - like a quarter (half?) of a teaspoon - in addition to black pepper

Add some (half a teaspoon?) of cumin powder

Use some paprika powder, either in the hummus itself or as a topping (or both)

Use a few tablespoons extra vigin olive oil both in the hummus and as a topping

Avoid canned chick peas if possible

Always use (circa half a cup) light tahini (can also be used as topping if garlic, water, lemon and salt/pepper is added))

At least to cloves of garlic and a whole lemon (or at least a half) seems like a good idea for a 'normal' portion (for circa two people)

The chick peas should be slightly overcooked

Another tip: After having cooked the chick peas (takes only 25 min in a pressure cooker), one could keep the extra peas in a fridge for a few days, and make new hummus out of these chick peas instead of keeping a large portion of hummus in the fridge.

Putting some paprika powder and olive oil (will make the paprika powder stick to the pitas) on the pita breads just before they are served/heated is also quite common.

If I use all these tricks at the same time, even my 7 year old son is impressed (he currently would prefer to have hummus for breakfast, dinner and supper!)...




PS - For a sweeter taste, roast the garlic first...

[Ruby Rose]

My hummus tip (being a self-confessed hummus addict) is to rub the skins off the (canned) chick peas first. Takes a few minutes, but makes a massive difference.

[Lord Perennialist]

My hummus tip (being a self-confessed hummus addict) is to rub the skins off the (canned) chick peas first. Takes a few minutes, but makes a massive difference.

Thanks for the tip. And you are not alone in your hummus addiction.

[timberly]

I don't know why I've never made hummus before but that has to change. I usually just buy Sabra brand hummus because I like that it's so creamy, how do they get it like that?

[terem]

I've tried making my own hummus twice and have failed! I must be doing something wrong.
Does everyone boil or steam their chickpeas?

[Cumin]

Here's our current favourite garlic-free recipe.
The amounts are very approximate as I never measure them.
I adopted this recipe after taking some of Korn's tips (e.g. paprika) and it's been a real winner for us.

1 tin suma organic chick peas (rinsed well and don't use the water)
1 tbsp suma organic tahini (dark or light)
2 tsp ground cumin (of course)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp clearspring virgin organic rapeseed oil (I find this makes it nice and nutty)
1 tbsp lemon juice (or maybe more)

blend until creamy. If it's too dry I usually add more lemon juice or oil rather than water.

It's odd how some people want to use the chick-pea water and others (like me) absolutely hate it. I find it makes is taste starchy, but perhaps it depends on the chick-pea brand.

[Korn]

It's odd how some people want to use the chick-pea water and others (like me) absolutely hate it. I find it makes is taste starchy, but perhaps it depends on the chick-pea brand.

When using canned chick peas, I avoid it. Some people boil the canned chick peas a little (with cumin) to avoid the canned taste that one sometimes get.

On another note, the fastest solution when using canned stuff for hummus, is to buy canned hummus and use it was if it was only chick peas: add lemon, garlic, a little cumin oil etc. For some reason, the 'pro' hummus taste seem to have to do with using chick peas that aren't totally fresh (cooked the same day). Maybe something hummusy happens with the taste after some hours or a day, especially if lemon etc is added before the taste is ripening?

Another way to make the hummus more tasty is to make it more firm (less water) and maybe a tad less cumin than I suggested earlier. The amount of tahini used is also important.

[*live*&*let*live]

Yummy post LP! I LOVE LOVE LOVE hummus, have it on lots of things and is great on a lightly toasted bagel for a quick lunch with some cherry tomatoes! Only tried it once and it wasn't a success. Love jalapeno hummous, and would like to try your recipe. What are Habanero peppers are they known by another name in the UK? Sorry if I am being ignorant not heard of them or the other beans you mention!?

[Risker]

Habanero peppers are some of the hottest chilli peppers you can get, they're about 300k+ on the scoville scale, usual shop bought chillies are about 10k-50k.

[*live*&*let*live]

Bl@@dy Hell!! { that would be the colour of my face after eating!
What about the beans do you know what they are also known by or what they are? cheers!

[Risker]

You mean garbanzo's? They're chickpeas but with a sillier name.

[*live*&*let*live]

OIC thanks! :smile:

[Lord Perennialist]

Korn, I find that to be true too. The longer cooked garbanzos sit out for, the more intense the hummus flavour becomes. I'm at a loss to give a reason as to why this is. I've started soaking them and cooking them myself, and I find that after I boil them I have to wait at least half a day before making the hummus, elsewise it tastes kind of bland.

l&ll, if you love jalapeno hummus then you'll probably love habanero hummus. Habaneros have a different flavour than jalapenos, something like a orangy flavour I would say. But there good... my favorite chile, and not just because they're hotter than most. Some day I shall get my hands on the bhut jolokia, the worlds hottest pepper, measuring around 1 million of the scoville scale, and make hummus out of that!

[*live*&*let*live]

^ Hi LP ^

Am gonna give it a whirl when I find the chillies! I will let you know how I get on, that's if you don't hear me yelling from my side of the world to yours before I get chance!! (not mad just HOTTTTT!)

Now got my manager hooked on bagels and hummus! She's had it everyday for two weeks at work for lunch after having one of mine. Can't be bad one more meal animal free!

[fiamma]

I've tried making my own hummus twice and have failed! I must be doing something wrong.

When you say "failed", what do you mean exactly? I usually use chickpeas from a jar, as I prefer the taste to dried ones soaked and then cooked... But when I did cook my own I used a pressure cooker.

I make hummus much more rarely now than I used to, but when I do I keep it REALLY simple; purists might accuse it of being just a chickpea puree. But whatever. I just blend a jar/can of chickpeas with a generous tablespoon of tahini, a tablespoon of olive oil and juice of half a lemon together with some of the liquid from the can/jar. Or just water.

I used to add garlic but suddenly developed a severe hatred for raw garlic; found it really hard to digest. That's it. Sometimes I might add a bit of paprika if I'm feeling decadent

[threeheadedpuppy]

I was just thinking of making hummus the other day, as I suddenly found myself surrounded by all the right ingredients - a bunch of lemons, some tahini, and a big jar of chickpeas that have been sat in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Should be perfect, if this leave-cooked-chickpeas-around-for-awhile theory is anything to go by!
I'm pretty sure my first attempt will almost certainly fail.

[Sarah_]

Oh god I could eat hummus all day long but I always buy the Tribe stuff. I was at Mother's earlier and they have an artichoke jalapeno hummus that I forgot to go get. It looks so amazing. I've got a can of chickpeas in the cupboard-looks like I'll have to have a go at making my own.

[fiamma]

I'm pretty sure my first attempt will almost certainly fail.

Good heavens, man!!! Have you never heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy??!!! Believe it will be divine, and it will be!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

[Mahk]

I like to add cumin to my hummus (the spice, not the VF member).

A trick I thought to add to all you first timers is that if you like it smooth and creamy you have to spin it in the food processor for a full five minutes. I know that may seem long but otherwise it comes out gritty which I don't like, but YMMV.

[threeheadedpuppy]

Okay, I tried it this morning. I took ruby's tip of de-husking my chickpeas, which took a very long time, and as I hate to chuck food out, I ate all the skins - after which I had kinda had enough of the taste of chickpeas! So to a cup of deskinned chickpeas+chickpea water, I added juice of a lemon, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 clove of garlic, pinch of cumin (yeah the spice of course ), pinch of chili, and a good slosh of olive oil.
And guess what? It tasted exactly how I would expect all those ingredients to taste when blended together. Definitely tasted of chickpeas, with that homemade-hummus taste that I was expecting. Which is not to say it was no good, I could quite easily get used to that flavour above supermarket flavour. But then I'm not fussy in the slightest when it comes to different flavours.

Probably could have done with the salt that I forgot, and less garlic, and less liquid, but apart from that, I don't know how I would improve this one.

[Lord Perennialist]

^ Hi LP ^

Am gonna give it a whirl when I find the chillies! I will let you know how I get on, that's if you don't hear me yelling from my side of the world to yours before I get chance!! (not mad just HOTTTTT!)

Now got my manager hooked on bagels and hummus! She's had it everyday for two weeks at work for lunch after having one of mine. Can't be bad one more meal animal free!

Good luck l&ll! I rarely make hummus without chilis... but there again, I'm the world's biggest chili fan.

Good job introducing your manager to hummus. You're right, one less meatless meal certainly helps, even though it may not be consistent.

Yay for hummus!

P.S. I made a raddish habanero hummus the other day and it turned out sweet. This surprised me and initially I decided I didn't like it... but ever since it has grown on me.

[threeheadedpuppy]

I tried again this morning, without the deskinning, and a lot less garlic, sunflower oil instead of olive oil, more tahini and a pinch of salt, and its a lot lot better! Almost too bland now, which is what I wanted, so next time I can increase the flavour to be perfect. Probably should have measured things then I could've been a bit more scientific with my approach!!
The chickpeas have been sitting around in the fridge for a couple of days, which might have helped.
yey!

[fiamma]

Great news!!!! (see I knew you could do it )

[twinkle]

I just made a nice hummus. Instead of tahini I put in some walnut halves - does the same kind of bitter creamy thing.

[harpy]

I must try that twinkle - walnuts and hummus sound like a good combination.