Hummus

This simple homemade Hummus is smooth, creamy, garlicky, flavorful, and delicious. It can be eaten by the spoonful, with pita, crostini, or crudité. Makes a perfect dip, snack, or spread and takes only minutes to prepare.

Ok, let me go full disclosure on that last sentence. It only takes minutes to prepare if you don’t peel the chickpeas one by one. Otherwise, add another 10 minutes to the prep time. I have to admit, I felt a little foolish standing at the counter peeling chickpeas. That’s ten minutes of my life I won’t get back. Is it really necessary? To peel, or not to peel, that is the question. The taste was the same as expected. Can you tell which is which? Was it worth my time?

The left is peeled and no, I don’t think it was worth the time peeling each individual chickpea. I’ll admit, I’ve only peeled the chickpeas one by one twice and that was because I was writing this post and needed to see for myself if it made a difference. I can honestly say that all my testers – family and friends – did not know the difference. But, I understand that for some, it may be important, so I wanted to find a way to make it easier to peel these little chickpeas without making it a chore.

Then I remembered what my Mom and aunt Renee taught me about removing the membranes of onions when making salsa criolla, which is a delicious red onion dressing. We put the onions in a bowl of cold water and “wash” the sliced onions with our hand by squeezing and rubbing. I put the chickpeas into a bowl and covered them with some cold water. I grabbed a handful of beans and gently rubbed, squeezed, and squished them around and the peels magically came off and floated to the top. HA! From there, you can remove the peels with your hand or a slotted spoon. It’s a better method than standing there peeling chickpeas, don’t you think?

You decide if you want to peel or not. If you do, after removing the peels, drain the chickpeas. Process the garlic cloves first to ensure they get minced without interference from the other ingredients. Then add remaining ingredients. When processing the hummus, make sure to let the food processor run for a minute or two to ensure you get a smooth texture. You can also use a blender to make this, but you may have to add a little more water to get it going.

If you don’t have tahini or like tahini, then you can substitute peanut butter. I sometimes make it with peanut butter because that is readily available in my pantry and it tastes great.

As for the can of chickpeas, they are sold in 15 and 16 ounce cans. Either one will work and I’ve used both with no noticeable difference. I use fresh water to thin the hummus and not the liquid from the can. You can add 2 – 3 tablespoons depending on the consistency you are after. Start with 2 first as you can always add another.

I top this with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, crushed red pepper, and chopped fresh parsley. A final dusting of paprika finishes it. The dressing not only add a burst of flavor with every scoop, it also livens up the dull beige color of hummus.

This makes a great snack and my family devours it whenever it’s made. If serving at a party, create a platter of veggies, pita chips, and/or crostini. It’s a good filler!

Simple Homemade Hummus

This Simple Homemade Hummus is smooth, creamy, garlicky, and delicious. It can be eaten by the spoonful, with pita, crostini, or crudité. Makes a perfect dip, snack, or spread and takes only minutes to prepare with a quick method of peeling the chickpeas, if desired.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Author: Natalie@thegeneticchef.com

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can chickpeas, drained*
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup tahini*
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt - or to taste
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 - 3 tablespoons water

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Paprika for sprinkling

Instructions

• Place garlic cloves in food processor and process until fully minced. Stop and scrape down sides of the bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients and continue to process until fully combined and pureed.
• Spoon hummus into a bowl and make a well in the center.

Top with dressing:

• Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with remaining dressing ingredients. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Notes

*You can choose to peel or not

**You can substitute creamy peanut butter for tahini.

Did you make this recipe? I would love to see how it turns out. Tag me on Instagram @thegeneticchef or tag #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!