Growing up in an Israeli family, I’ve been exposed to quality hummus my whole life. This has made me very picky with my hummus consumption. I’ve made and eaten many versions of hummus recipes and what I know is that nothing makes a bigger difference than using dried beans. I have hummus recipes with canned beans that are still delicious such as my Hummus with Roasted Eggplant, Sweet Potato Hummus, and Cilantro Lime Hummus but the texture just doesn’t get the same with canned beans.

After many attempts and a combination of a variety of recipes, here is my favorite homemade hummus recipe (inspired by frommybowl)

Homemade Hummus

INGREDIENTS

• 12 oz dried chickpeas (around 2 cups)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 -5 cloves of garlic
• Juice of 2 lemons (1/3 cup lemon juice)
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup tahini (my favorite is soom foods, whole foods also has a great tahini. Always make sure it’s made from ethiopian sesama seeds!)
• 1/2 cup cold ice water (add more if you like a runnier hummus)

Toppings:

• olive oil
• cumin
• optional: paprika, zaatar, chopped parsley, hardboiled egg, roasted mushrooms, roasted eggplant

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak chickpeas in a bowl of water overnight. Make sure a few inches of water cover the chickpeas, they will increase in size significantly!
2. Drain the chickpeas and cook in fresh water with the 3-5 clove of raw garlic (according to preference) and the baking soda (which helps break down the skin and soften the chickpeas). Bring the water to a boil and cook for 1.5 hours on low heat (beans simmering until the beans are soft (you want them to be much softer than garbanzo beans you get out of a can).
3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Many recipes will tell you to peel the chickpeas (the baking soda will make them easier to peel), but I’m often too lazy and don’t find this effort worth the time or output.
4. Prepare your ice water for your hummus.
5. Add three cups of the peeled chickpeas and the cooked garlic into a food processor. Mix lemon juice and salt in a small bowl until salt dissolves, and then slowly pour this mixture into the food processor while it is running and puree until smooth.
6. Add tahini 1/4 cup at a time and add in ice water 1/4 cup at a time (make sure not to get ice cubes). Let the food processor run for 4-5 min to help make the hummus fluffy and smooth. Taste and adjust tahini and water ratio as needed.
7. Serve with remaining chickpeas, olive oil drizzle and cumin (I find all of these necessary to add delicious flavor to the hummus) and any other additional toppings. Enjoy!