Hummus for Us November 13, 2012 10:17 AM   Subscribe

In light of this post, I would like for the extraordinary Hummus Makers of Metafilter to share their Hummus Recipes, please!!
posted by whimsicalnymph to MetaFilter-Related at 10:17 AM (114 comments total) 51 users marked this as a favorite

my recipe now involves gaston.
posted by elizardbits at 10:19 AM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]


K.I.S.S.

Two cans of beans (washed well in a strainer with cold water)
Garlic: 2 fat cloves per can or so (garlic pressed not sliced)
squeeze of lemon juice
olive oil and salt to taste
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:27 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


I don't have any particularly unique recipes BUT if you're making cucumber-flavored hummus, use less water. Cucumbers are, as I found out, mostly water and you'll end up making baby food if you don't compensate.
posted by griphus at 10:30 AM on November 13, 2012


I was marginally annoyed by the goddamn Santana thread but now the Gaston song is irretrievably stuck in my head so bless you, bless you.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 10:30 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


However, a warning about the Gaston recipe: As a recipe, yes, it's intim-i-dating, but more importantly than that, you should be aware ahead of time that the hummus is delicious but ev'ry last inch of it's covered with hair.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 10:32 AM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


I found 1/4 cup of yogurt adds some nice flavor to 2bucksplus' recipe, which is the same as mine.
posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen at 10:34 AM on November 13, 2012


The tahini makes all the difference in the world. I endorse Greg Nog's approach. And don't skip that paprika!
posted by Miko at 10:46 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


NB 1/2 cup of yogurt also adds some nice flavour to Gaston.
posted by elizardbits at 10:46 AM on November 13, 2012


Yeah the solution to "this doesn't taste great" is almost always either "more tahini" or "more paprika."
posted by griphus at 11:11 AM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


Here is the peanut butter based Alton Brown recipe I mentioned in the other thread:

"I would own a food processor if for no other reason but that it makes great hummus -- one of my favorite foods. I don't actually have a recipe: I just drop three peeled cloves of garlic down the chute and chop for a few seconds. Then, in goes a can of garbanzo beans (partially drained), which also gets chopped. Then a spoonful of peanut butter, some lemon juice, and parsley. Then I leave the machine on and drizzle in olive oil until the consistency is just where I want it (thick and dip-like). It's as easy as that.)"

If anyone tries it, I'd be curious to hear how it turns out compared to the real tahini-based versions.
posted by ook at 11:12 AM on November 13, 2012


I was about to say that you could probably have fun experimenting with different nut butters in place of the tahini.

And then an evil part of my brain asked, "hey, I wonder what it'd be like if you used Nutella instead of tahini?"

And then the rest of my brain started screaming and hasn't stopped yet.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:18 AM on November 13, 2012 [14 favorites]


What 2bucksplus said, but add a bunch of cilantro. Seriously.
posted by klausman at 11:20 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Aren't you supposed to slide off the skins of the chickpeas before mashing them?
posted by batmonkey at 11:23 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


Quick version [accumulated from the instructions of a few Israeli friends, whose Hummus I found especially tasty. My own comments on square brackets]: take a 400g-can of cooked chickpeas, drain and mix in the blender with the juice of half a lemon [that is not enough!] and a glass full [I translated this into 2 1/2 tablespoons] of tahini. The best tahini for hummus is the whitest one can get; so definitely not the unpeeled gray organic variety [if you want pureness, this is right, but organic tahini worked quite okay for my rough European taste buds]. It has to become creamy when you blend it with lemon and a bit of water. Best is if you can find Lebanese Tahini (they call it “crem de sessam…”) [I used Tahini from Larissa, Greece, a place I remember especially for their tough grilled chicken - it worked just fine; later, I actually did find crem de sessam, which was somewhat thinner and easier to incorporate into the mix].
Add salt [careful if you use canned chickpeas, they’re usually already salted], pepper [a teaspoon or so] and cumin [to taste, not too much] and add enough water to make the paste thin enough but not too liquid. [I found that processing hummus in the blender of the food processor required too much water, or the pulp just stayed halfway up the jar and didn’t mix. I believe that Hummus ought to be pretty stiff. So if you have one of these hand mixers for pureeing stuff, use it instead].

The real stuff version: take half a kilo of dried chickpeas and soak them overnight in water with baking-powder (one spoon full). The baking powder is absolutely necessary for getting the beans really soft.
Cook the chickpeas the next morning, using the soaking water, for at least 12 hours, at a low temperature (preferably on an electric plate with a precise thermostat). The water should move but not boil much. The peas are ready when they almost mash by themselves [on the stove top, mine were really okay after 10 hours. However, this isn't my favorite way of cooking beans. I am using a cast iron roasting pot with an iron lid, and cook the beans on moderate heat in the oven. It speeds up the works and prevents most of the water from evaporating, thus guaranteeing a more even result].
This generates an enormous amount of cooked chickpeas; you can keep the rest of them for a week in the fridge, or in the deep-freezer for a very long time.
Proceed from here as in the quick version.

Decorate with whatever you have, toasted or pressed garlic, paprika, olive oil, toasted pine nuts, you name it.
posted by Namlit at 11:27 AM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]


And no I do not "need to fix a typo" I guess but now I'm hungry
posted by Namlit at 11:29 AM on November 13, 2012


I went to the Williams Sonoma website and they don't have an adonnis or gaston, I'll check with the restaurant supply place on the way home.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:33 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


The amounts of garlic, tahini, lemon and olive oil vary to personal tastes, but the secret to truly good* hummus is using dried beans and their pot liquor. After soaking and cooking the beans until complete doneness, I substitute some of the olive oil with the bean broth. First puree the beans, garlic and lemon, then with the blade running drizzle in the tahini, and then the olive oil. This helps create a lighter, fluffier hummus, and the bean broth gives it a real depth of flavor.

*"Truly good" as defined by my extremely picky Lebanese friend who says my hummus is as good as his mom's.
posted by slogger at 11:40 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


their pot liquor

This is also where they keep the farts.
posted by griphus at 11:43 AM on November 13, 2012 [6 favorites]


I found this randomly the other day on the Canadian Lentil website. I think it's the worst Hummus recipe ever. I haven't tried it yet, but at some point I must taste it for myself.

5 Minute Lentil Hummus

1-19 oz can (540 mL) lentils, rinsed and drained
½ cup (125 mL) fat-free ranch dressing
½ tsp (2 mL) curry powder
2 garlic cloves

1) Place all ingredients into food processor or blender. Blend to desired consistency.
posted by Drinky Die at 11:43 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Aren't you supposed to slide off the skins of the chickpeas before mashing them?

This is what the Gourmet cookbook recommends and I've only done it once (holy hell is it time-consuming, best done in front of a guilty-pleasure TV show) and it does really make a huge difference in texture. Skinless chickpeas = smoothest hummus ever.
posted by iminurmefi at 11:44 AM on November 13, 2012


Drinky Die: "½ cup (125 mL) fat-free ranch dressing
½ tsp (2 mL) curry powder
"

Good God.
posted by boo_radley at 11:52 AM on November 13, 2012 [7 favorites]


1-19 oz can (540 mL) lentils, rinsed and drained
½ cup (125 mL) fat-free ranch dressing
½ tsp (2 mL) curry powder


I have done this recipe, only instead of lentils it was dry ramen noodles and instead of curry powder it was the ramen flavor packet. It didn't help the hangover as much as I had hoped.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:56 AM on November 13, 2012 [7 favorites]


Re: nutella instead of tahini, these people recommend "chocolate hummus"
I have not made or tried this because even if it does taste good, it sounds revolting.
Someone let me know.
posted by atomicstone at 11:59 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Per Melissa Clark, you can get silky results similar to skinning the chickpeas by zapping them briefly in the microwave. I like my hummus gritty though, personally.
posted by ifjuly at 12:03 PM on November 13, 2012


I don't like hummus to be too smooth. Also, few people put enough tahini in.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:09 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Isn't Nutella already some type of Hummus?

(hmmm. Decadent Nutella...)
posted by Namlit at 12:09 PM on November 13, 2012


Screw it, let's just throw in some tang or koolaid or whatever in there too. Who wants some Arctic Blast Hummus?
posted by boo_radley at 12:10 PM on November 13, 2012 [8 favorites]


What's a good substitute for Tahini? (I can't get that here).
posted by dhruva at 12:12 PM on November 13, 2012


dhurva, that's actually why a lot of people are suggesting peanut butter.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:13 PM on November 13, 2012


Back in my hummus-making days, I nearly killed my new blender. Do it in small batches or in a food processor or some such, or else you'll get really sick of digging crusted-up chickpeas out of the nooks and crannies of your Osterizer.
posted by Madamina at 12:15 PM on November 13, 2012


Toast a handful of pine nuts and toss them in there. Yum.
posted by fshgrl at 12:15 PM on November 13, 2012


You can make tahini - toast 4 cups of sesame seeds, tossing frequently (until they're fragrant, but don't let them brown), and then zap it in the food processor with a cup and a half of olive oil. It's like a sesame seed hummus - you put into your hummus.
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:18 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


Please find and post the recipe for "Lentils a al Dollar Store".
posted by boo_radley at 12:22 PM on November 13, 2012


It's like a sesame seed hummus - you put into your hummus.

Yo dawg i heard you liked hummus so i put some hummus into your....





....Wow, that really doesn't work coming from a middle aged WASP chick. I'll just stop there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:24 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1-2 (or more) cloves of garlic
drizzle of honey (optional)
sea salt (NOT OPTIONAL)

Throw it all in a blender and blend until smooth. Or not-smooth. I don't care, I'm not the food police.

Important note about this recipe: If you have a tiny little cuisinart mini-food processor (like this) there will come a point after you add the chickpeas and tahini where you go OH NO IT'S NOT GOING TO FIT, THIS IS A GREAT TRAGEDY. But it will fit. Have faith in the hummus.
posted by specialagentwebb at 12:27 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


If it doesn't have tahini, it doesn't have IT.

For smoother hummus, use a drizzle of cold water while blending.

Za'tar on top is really quite delicious.
posted by OmieWise at 12:30 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Most of those experiments were actually pretty tasty, largely by virtue of their high sodium content and as a pleasant culinary contrast to GRINDING LONELY DEPRESSION


"One Meal A Day Will Do" Omelette

INGREDIENTS
4 jumbo eggs
5 Polly-O Mozarella sticks (chopped)
1/4 cup store-brand canned olives
1/4 cup salami (chopped)
1 pickle (diced)
1 squirt of anchovy paste
Too much pepper
What the hell is this Adobo? Whatever.

DIRECTIONS
Whisk ingredients in bowl until arm gets tired (~90 seconds)
Turn heat to "who gives a shit, I'm terrible at this anyway" degrees.
Rinse dirty frying pan and put on burner.
Realize you have run out of cooking spray. Look for butter. There is no butter.
Pour ingredients into now-overly-hot frying pan.
Stare dead ahead at wall for 2-3 minute.
Try to flip omelette, causing a big mess.
Stare dead ahead at wall for 2-3 minutes.
Transfer to plate and eat alone in the dark in your room with the door closed.
posted by griphus at 12:30 PM on November 13, 2012 [31 favorites]


And for us nutritarians, here's a black bean hummus recipe and a regular one and an eggplant one.

Ingredients for black bean version:
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or 1 (15 ounce) can no salt added or low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest or other no salt seasoning *I am getting hooked on this Vegizest stuff. Man, it is good.*
2 tablespoons raw tahini
2 teaspoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
dash cayenne pepper or more to taste
dash paprika, for garnish
Instructions:
Blend all ingredients, except the paprika, in food processor or high powered blender until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add more seasoning to taste. Add more water to achieve desired consistency.

Garnish with paprika.

Note: Serve with raw vegetables such as baby carrots, broccoli florets, zucchini, cucumbers,romaine lettuce leaves, or steamed asparagus spears.


Ingredients for basic version:
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans or canned, no salt added or low sodium, drained
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup raw unhulled sesame seeds
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest or other no salt seasoning blend, adjusted to taste
1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 small clove garlic, chopped
Instructions:
Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until creamy smooth.

Serve with raw and lightly steamed vegetables or as a filling ingredient with a whole grain wrap or pita.

Ingredients for eggplant version:
1 medium eggplant, cut in half
1 cup cooked or canned, no-salt-added or low-sodium garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1/3 cup water
4 tablespoons raw unhulled sesame seeds
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried minced onions
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
dash paprika

Instructions:
Bake eggplant at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool, remove skin & discard.
Blend all ingredients, including baked, peeled eggplant, in a food processor or high powered blender until smooth and creamy.

Serve with assorted raw vegetables.
posted by bearwife at 12:33 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Transfer to plate and eat alone in the dark in your room with the door closed.

In the PMS version you accidentally burn everything because you are distracted while crying over a dog food commercial.
posted by elizardbits at 12:38 PM on November 13, 2012 [11 favorites]



Most of those experiments were actually pretty tasty, largely by virtue of their high sodium content and as a pleasant culinary contrast to GRINDING LONELY DEPRESSION


Haven't Left The House In Three Days Fried Bread pairs well with this dish.
posted by The Whelk at 12:39 PM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


To remove the skins from the chickpeas without it taking forever, submerge the cooked or canned chickpeas in a bowl of water, then rub the chickpeas with your fingers. The skins rise to the surface and you can skim them off. If you like smooth hummus this step is totally worth it.
posted by Daily Alice at 12:48 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


In the PMS version you accidentally burn everything because you are distracted while crying over a dog food commercial.

And then you throw it, frying pan and all, into the garbage angrily and then open the freezer and take out the ice cream.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 12:57 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Where's the cumin everybody???

Toast/roast/heat some cumin slightly till it smells nice and not so much that it smells like burning.
Stick in spice grinder and grind.

Add to your food processor full of other stuff (chickpeas, water, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, taheeni) and blend.
posted by captaincrouton at 1:05 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


no, usually i stomp down to the bodega in my pajamas and get really enraged when i see that they have moved the dorito section AGAIN

TO THWART ME PERSONALLY

I AM SURE
posted by elizardbits at 1:07 PM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


I always make mine in the blender because fuck cleaning the Cuisinart. It's basically this recipe except with a ton more garlic.

I am so glad other people cry over dog food commercials sometimes.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:13 PM on November 13, 2012 [8 favorites]


Sarah McLuaghin has a lot to answer for as well.
posted by The Whelk at 1:16 PM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


Just for the record, real hummus only has only six ingredients: chickpeas, garlic, lemon, olive oil, tahini and water. Anything else is bean dip.
posted by slogger at 1:40 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Blessed be the Hummus Makers of Metafilter for they shall inherit the earth
posted by growabrain at 1:43 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


I love peanut butter. I love hummus. Peanut butter does not belong in hummus.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:50 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Who put the peanut butter in my hummus? Who put the hummus in my peanut butter?
posted by medusa at 2:00 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


My Cuisinart blender came with a great hummus recipe, if you doubled the garlic. The blender broke and I made the mistake of throwing away the little booklet. I've been missing that recipe ever since.
posted by Area Man at 2:20 PM on November 13, 2012


Is it this? Cuisinart has a lot of their recipes online. If you skip the user submitted ones you can probably find the one you were missing.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:30 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Someone needs to make a mash-up of a video of someone making hummus with the Gaston song overlayed on top. I'd do it myself, but I have no skillz.
posted by asnider at 2:47 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


george_washington_carver_and_david_ben_gurion_frenching.gif

I shared that Dropbox folder with you in confidence, Greg.
posted by griphus at 2:50 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Just for the record, real hummus only has only six ingredients: chickpeas, garlic, lemon, olive oil, tahini and water. Anything else is bean dip.

Not so much. My Israeli friend always made his from a recipe he got from a Palestinian friend, and it had cumin, and sometimes yogurt in it. I like the "real hummus" recipe from Hummus 101 myself. These people are serious about their hummus, even getting geeky about chickpeas.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:12 PM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]


Just for the record, real hummus only has only six ingredients: chickpeas, garlic, lemon, olive oil, tahini and water.

Er...not according to my Syrian FIL. There's no water, for one, and there's cumin. And salt, because if you skip the salt, it's not right. And there'd better be sumac on it!

My son uses his Great-Grandma's recipe, which has an Imperial Buttload of tahini in it, and serves it drizzled with honey and garlic-infused olive oil. I think I'm going to pester him to make that for supper tonight.
posted by MissySedai at 3:18 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


first you need worms, then you need decomposing things, then the worms turn them. Well you don't need worms first. Maybe second. But you need leaf litter. Mostly.
Oh, hummus, I donaire why, but you halwa try making everything once and looking at geographic distribution, it's cumin across as the food that unites the world.

Seeing the tahini love, can people share their favorite halwa recipes as well (never made it but like it, and would like to one day try when I have cooking tool access)?
Nutritional analysis results show it to be an excellent source of protein (26%) and polyunsaturated fats (60%), while being rich in vitamins and trace elements, such as iron and magnesium.

This sounds very good in light doses (but I know not of what I write):
2 cups (24 oz.; 700g) honey
flavourings—vanilla, coffee, chocolate,...
1½ cups (12 oz.; 340g) tahini — beaten to mix in any excess oil
optional 1½ cups nuts

posted by infinite intimation at 3:42 PM on November 13, 2012


Wait, shouldn't we be talking about gay marriage humor in this thread? For balance?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:08 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


OK. First of all, there's no hummus in the world that is made out of canned garbanzos. It has to be freshly cooked out of dried peas.
Here is the old Hummus blog I used to enjoy reading
posted by growabrain at 4:21 PM on November 13, 2012


(Makes more notes) Okay. So, to get a FPP noticed, it has to contain reference and/or links to hummus recipes, Star Wars / why George Lucas will burn in the fiery pits of hell, a Gangnam Style parody, some aspect of US presidential elections, an analysis of why contributers to community blogs often overthink (but should still ditch their partner), some data from Nate Silver's spreadsheet, and a disparaging comparison of MetaFilter to ... (waves disdainfully) Reddit?

Oh; and a cat video. Always a cat video.
posted by Wordshore at 4:25 PM on November 13, 2012


Metatalk became 100% porn so slowly, I hardly even noticed.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:26 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Now to go shopping!
posted by Mojojojo at 4:46 PM on November 13, 2012


Ha. There are 69 comments.
posted by Dr. Zira at 4:49 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I regret not sprinkling this comment with links to the source recipes. And not pushing quiches more. I like quiche.

Here are some of the weird-yet-delicious-looking ones I found:

Roasted Beet Hummus (with white beans). Apparently you can leave the beans out entirely if this "Super Simple Hummus, with or without the chickpeas" recipe claims, suggesting chick peas, roasted beets, or raw zucchini are interchangeable, no adjustments needed. This blog post gives recipes for traditional hummus as well as almond and cashew hummus -- the nuts are soaked overnight much like chickpeas would be.

Can't replace the garlic, though. Remember: There’s simply no such thing as hummus without garlic. Do not believe the heresy you hear about "horseradish hummus*."

Apparently asafoetida is similar to garlic if you're allergic, creating a hummus-analog that does not offend the powers that be.

*includes other "unusual blasphemous hummus variations"
posted by Leucistic Cuttlefish at 4:55 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


A good basic recipe to start your weird variations (Nutella, beets, etc.) from is the Veganomicon recipe:

2 cans (15 oz/each) garbanzo/chick peas, drained (you can use about half this liquid in place of the water below, especially if you're using a blender)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 TBsp tahini
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
~1/4 cup water, as desired
pinch cumin (so not optional)
pinch salt and pepper
pinch paprika (Hungarian smoked if possible)

My interpretation of their directions:
One can of garbanzos + half the olive oil (and some of the garbanzo liquid if you're using a blender) should be ground together until somewhat smooth. Then add the rest of the beans, the rest of the olive oil and all of the other ingredients in your blender (order doesn't really seem to matter). Grind until you reach your desired texture. If your blender makes unhappy noises, add more liquid.

This takes oh, five minutes. From start to finish including peeling the garlic. It makes 12-16 oz or so. Small children can make it.
posted by librarylis at 5:10 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'll just be here sobbing into my bag of dry honey mustard pretzels, because I live with the tiniest kitchen and the tiniest sink and no dishwasher to cleanse my beautiful, terrifying Cusinart, whose blades I cannot lick clean of glorious, messy, delicious lashings of hummus.


(ps though smoked paprika is the best addition, unless maybe it is more garlic)
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:25 PM on November 13, 2012


Once you find a base hummus recipe you enjoy, you can start playing around with different ingredients. Instead of chickpeas, use another bean (black bean hummus is amazing). Or use a nut butter instead of tahini. Also you can add pretty much anything you want. I really enjoy spicy hummus or horseradish hummus.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 5:26 PM on November 13, 2012


Thank you Jessamyn. That's not the one I was thinking of, but it must be on there.
posted by Area Man at 5:27 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


All of these recipes prove my point that hummus is annoying to make.

How I make hummus these days:

I go to the store. I walk over to the cooler with 'fresh hummus' on a sign above it. I pick up a tub of whichever kind I want that day and I pay for it! Then I go home to my un-chickpea-encrusted house and eat hummus like a boss.

I salute all y'all who are gallant enough to fight the fight, but for me the best hummus is a hummus I didn't make.
posted by winna at 5:39 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Speaking of store-bought hummus, here is my AskMe question seeking the best supermarket brands. There's also a recipe in there.
posted by Area Man at 5:47 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


In the Bean Paste category, I love making "hummus" with canneloni beans instead of chickpeas. It's very close to proper hummus in flavour and colour, but it has a fantastic texture. Super smooth and easy to get an almost whipped airiness to it.
posted by mosessis at 5:51 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Because he died recently, and then this thread appeared, here is Gus Van Beek's recipe for hummus, which he made vast quantities of, and brought without fail to the annual holiday party, and served with pita triangles and small slices of french bread.

1 can (15 oz. or so) chick peas or Garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 cloves of garlic

Mash, or grind in blender or food processor, the chick peas to a paste. Add tahini and lemon juice and mix by hand. Crush garlic in a garlic press and add to mixture. If texture is too stiff, add more lemon juice, if too tart and not sufficiently creamy, add more tahini. Add an additional 1-3 cloves of garlic if stronger taste is desired. Keep in mind, the garlic flavor intensifies with left over hummus. [Note, this is the basic recipe, but when I grilled him about it, because I knew there was some other ingredient in there, he admitted he added some good quality Greek yogurt to taste].

Serve by putting the hummus on a plate or in a shallow bowl and hollowing out the center, and putting into it some good quality olive oil, so that one mixes the olive oil and hummus while eating.
posted by gudrun at 6:36 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


All of these recipes prove my point that hummus is annoying to me

Ah yes, but homemade hummus is

1. much much cheaper
2. better tasting
posted by Miko at 7:09 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


Thank you, gudrun. And that (minus blender or food processor) is the closest to how I was taught to make hummus.

Must be mashed by hand, or so my friend Mary said.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 7:13 PM on November 13, 2012


Hipster hummus
-------------------
2 cups PBR
1 frozen banana
1 Durian
0.5 cups artisanal bacon bits
Pinch of saffron

Instructions
--------------
Whiz all ingredients until smooth
Throw in garbage
Go to nearest whole foods
Buy a small tub of $14 organic hummus.
posted by special-k at 7:26 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


Per mosessis's comment above, I have loved Claudia Roden's white bean puree since it was my staple flat-broke food just after college:

1/2 lb dried small white beans (in the US, look for navy, pea, small white beans, or cannellini)
juice of one lemon (but I usually use more)
5 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

Soak & cook the beans in your usual way (or, hell, open a couple of cans of cannellini and rinse them). Roden says"mash, pound, or blend to a smooth paste," mix in the olive oil, and add salt & pepper to taste. I use a little of the cooking liquid to help the mashing before the oil has gone in.

The perfect amount of fresh-ground black pepper in this is reached when you think "a few more twists of the grinder - oh shit, that was two too many." White beans take more seasoning than one might think.
posted by catlet at 8:25 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Two words:

roasted garlic.
posted by geek anachronism at 8:27 PM on November 13, 2012


Ah yes, but homemade hummus is

1. much much cheaper
2. better tasting


I must respectfully disagree. Maybe I'm spoiled because I'm within five minutes of four great Mediterranean delis (in west Houston--the city, not the street in NYC you guys from there don't pronounce correctly--mind you, so it's not some foodie paradise on this end of town.)

I have tried and Tried and TRIED to get hummus right and I can't come anywhere close to any of those places. One place makes it really smooth. Another has a big garlic punch. Another goes heavy on the spices. Depends on what I'm in the mood for.

Give up. Find a good deli. Sometimes the best advice is telling you to stop.
posted by Cyrano at 10:19 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


I was going to say that plus probably if you make it yourself you'll wind up making an absolute ton and you'll be stuck with a bunch of hummus, but then I realized that if that happened to me I'd end up eating it all anyway, so.
posted by kenko at 11:02 PM on November 13, 2012


That may actually be the best reason not to home-make the stuff: if I'm going to gob the stuff in a single sitting anyway, do I really want to spend all that time cooking the chickpeas, blending them up, cleaning, etc.?
posted by kenko at 11:02 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


YOU MUST PEEL THE CHICKPEAS. By hand, pinched individually from the skin, underwater. This takes ages and is a labor of hummus love. Flavorings and proportions can be debated, but truly velvety, ethereal hummus can must be made with PEELED CHICKPEAS. All dissenters will be stoned.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:06 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


YOU MUST PEEL THE CHICKPEAS. By hand, pinched individually from the skin, underwater. This takes ages and is a labor of hummus love. Flavorings and proportions can be debated, but truly velvety, ethereal hummus can must be made with PEELED CHICKPEAS.

I think this is the part where the internet broke my irony detector. I am adjudicating this case at 50.00001% likelihood of genuineness and 49.99999% likelihood of sarcasm.
posted by threeants at 11:12 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


threeants, I am 100% genuine. I do not joke about either hummus or ludicrously labor-intensive culinary tasks. I put them in a bowl and do it in the living room while watching TV. The chickpeas sink, the peels float and can be scooped out. The graininess disappears from the final product.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:15 PM on November 13, 2012


At whitneyarner's prompting, all dissenters will not be stoned. The important thing is just that you make an informed decision re: hummus graininess-level. Even though a satiny hummus cloud is obviously superior.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:24 PM on November 13, 2012


It had never occurred to me before to remove the skins of the chickpeas but I tried it just now. I'm so thankful for the suggestion! Not only did it improve the texture; I think it improved the flavor as well (just me, or do the skins add some bitterness to the hummus?). Also, being without a food processor/blender I use a potato masher, and found them mush easier to pulverize without skins.

So, thumbs up there. I encourage others to try!
posted by orrnyereg at 11:25 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


orrnyereg, I'm honored to have helped. I concur about the bitterness.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:28 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I've also heard that about removing the skins.

Has anyone ever made hummus from fresh green chickpeas?
posted by SillyShepherd at 12:12 AM on November 14, 2012


My recipe is pretty much like what I said in the thread and pretty much like Greg Nog's at the top of this thread except he actually measures stuff and really I just throw all the things in the food processor until they are hummus and it turns out delicious.

That is my approach to cooking everything, really.


I still want the recipe that involves a three-way, though.


ALSO


Peanut butter? Nutella? Honey?


See, now, all of those things are sweet/ contain buttloads of sugar (except possibly artisinal co-op organic peanut butter and you might ass well just buy tahini at that point.) If I bite into some hummus, expecting savory lemony toothsome goodness and I get a mouthful of sugar I will fly into a rage and scream and scream until everything in the world is dead.




This actually happened with a jar - an EXPENSIVE jar - of tomatilla salsa. VOMIT VOMIT VOMIT SCREAM
posted by louche mustachio at 12:34 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


I see a typo in there, but I ain't fixing it.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:35 AM on November 14, 2012


All dissenters will be stoned.


Sweet.



I will care so much less about the texture of the hummus then. And I will definitely eat it all.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:39 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


Going to agree with winna here. The ratio of Increased Time And Effort to Improved Taste is suuuuuuuuper high for homemade vs. storebought hummus, as far as I'm concerned.

I mean, criminy, are you people also carefully hand-braiding your own Triscuits?
posted by kyrademon at 7:31 AM on November 14, 2012


So let me tell you about my artisinal Triscuit loom...
posted by Pudhoho at 7:39 AM on November 14, 2012 [7 favorites]


Count me in as one of those people who secretly never bothers to make hummus for the reasons winna and others have mentioned--and I'd do it anyway if I thought the results tasted much better than what I can get at the Med grocer, but that has never been the case for me at all. I do have secret guilt over this, similar to how I don't really think there's much difference between making your own pumpkin puree and the canned stuff and not seeing what the fuss is over Meyer lemons.
posted by ifjuly at 8:12 AM on November 14, 2012


And also agree that black bean hummus is super delicious (and I don't even have to bother with that one either!--this kind lady at the farmers market makes the most delicious BBH ever).
posted by ifjuly at 8:13 AM on November 14, 2012


Meyer lemons are slightly nicer for shaker lemon pie purposes because their skins are much much thinner.
posted by kenko at 8:17 AM on November 14, 2012


(Makes more notes) Okay. So, to get a FPP noticed, it has to contain reference and/or links to hummus recipes, Star Wars / why George Lucas will burn in the fiery pits of hell, a Gangnam Style parody, some aspect of US presidential elections, an analysis of why contributers to community blogs often overthink (but should still ditch their partner), some data from Nate Silver's spreadsheet, and a disparaging comparison of MetaFilter to ... (waves disdainfully) Reddit?

Oh; and a cat video. Always a cat video.


A video of a cat making hummus while George Lucas does the horsey dance in the background as a Gangnam Style parody called "Hummus Style" plays. The cat is also a US political commentator.
posted by asnider at 8:22 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


> Meyer lemons are slightly nicer for shaker lemon pie purposes because their skins are much much thinner.

Ah, that clarifies things. I use lemons primarily for the oils in the skins mostly, truth be told--both zested into salads etc. and peeled into twists for drinks. So Meyer lemons are actually frustrating to try to zest/peel relatively--so thin it's hard to avoid an unfavorable pith to skin ratio--and the juice never seems different enough to me to bother with.
posted by ifjuly at 8:28 AM on November 14, 2012


(I'm as subtaster-y as one can be, granted. The stronger and tarter the better, so there's that against 'em too for me.)
posted by ifjuly at 8:29 AM on November 14, 2012


Peanut butter and greek yoghurt are the two lynchpins of Nigella Lawson's Peanut Butter Hummus, which is the greatest. of. all. time. This stuff barely makes it out of the food processor.
posted by ominous_paws at 8:44 AM on November 14, 2012


ook: "
If anyone tries it, I'd be curious to hear how it turns out compared to the real tahini-based versions.
"

I tried it when I saw the episode a few years ago. Tasted peanut buttery, which did not work for me.
posted by I am the Walrus at 9:33 AM on November 14, 2012


No, my homemade hummus is not cheaper or better than that I get from the nice Lebanese family at the halal grocery. I factor in the time and annoyance of making it into the equation.

Cinnamon rolls are one of the only things that are better when I make them than when I buy them, even considering that it takes twelve billion hours to make.
posted by winna at 9:52 AM on November 14, 2012


Yes and also by being lazy about hummus-making we are actually JOB CREATORS now.
posted by elizardbits at 9:53 AM on November 14, 2012 [4 favorites]


Give up. Find a good deli. Sometimes the best advise is telling you to stop.

I miss living in a city so goddamn much.

(Only fresh hummus I'm going to get in the boonies is what I make myself)
posted by kagredon at 10:54 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


hm i wonder what guy fieri's thoughts are on artisanal hummus

maybe i will make an fpp
posted by elizardbits at 11:35 AM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'm genuinely surprised that NY Times review of his restaurant hasn't made it to the front page repeatedly.
posted by griphus at 11:36 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


I promise you all that when I was talking about chocolate and hummus, I was unaware this recipe existed.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:37 AM on November 14, 2012


I like edamame hummus:

1/2 pound frozen shelled edamame (green soy beans), about 1 1/2 cups
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons), juiced
1 clove garlic, smashed
3/4 teaspooon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Boil the beans in salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, or microwave, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.

In a food processor, puree the edamame, tahini, water, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, cumin, and coriander until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and mix until absorbed.

Transfer to a small bowl, stir in the parsley and drizzle with remaining oil.
posted by *s at 1:17 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


MetaFilter: I'm not the food police.

[Note: The above tagline seems to have escaped from the Bizarro version of MetaFilter.]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:24 PM on November 14, 2012


I'm having a hard time understanding how I can Ctrl-F this thread for "pressure" and find no mention of a pressure cooker.

Start with dried chickpeas.

Soak them.

Cook them in a pressure cooker.

Anything after that point with the ingredients and the food processor and the hey and the hoo and the hah is window dressing.

Canned chickpeas are for the birds, my friends. Prepping hummus from dried chickpeas with a pressure cooker is where it is at.
posted by Shepherd at 6:08 PM on November 14, 2012


TIL: The difference between good hummus and great hummus is adding so much garlic you're embarrassed to leave the house.

Totally worth it.
posted by Space Kitty at 6:45 PM on November 14, 2012


Shepherd, are you quicksoaking in the pressure cooker? 2 minutes high pressure, drain, cook normally. It means half an hour from "a bag of chickpeas" to "a whole mess of cooked chickpeas."

It also means hummus-from-dried-beans is possible to have more quickly than driving to the store and back.
posted by catlet at 7:11 PM on November 14, 2012


Sweet pea hummus plus hummus-making tips, nom nom. Or, roast up some garlic like this and throw it in there.
posted by illenion at 12:52 AM on November 15, 2012


Am I the only one who doesn't like lemon juice in my hummus?
posted by DoubleLune at 4:07 PM on November 15, 2012


Yup
posted by Namlit at 8:54 AM on November 16, 2012 [4 favorites]


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