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Hummus greek style

I love Hummus. It’s a fabulous dish that every country around the Mediterranean and the Middle East claiming to have invented. The Greeks, Israelis, Morrocans, Turks, Iranians, Lebanese and Egyptians are all involved. The flavours vary between each country but I tend to favour the Greek version.

My thoughts on the subject are that the Ancient Greeks travelled far and wide around the Mediterranean and the Middle East even as far as the Balkans. Like everything else, they discovered they brought it back to Greece and perfected it. Tahini is a necessary ingredient, so you will need to make some first, it is very easy.

To create the perfect Greek Meza check out our recipes for Tzatziki and Lamb Koftas or if you need to plan for a group of friends try the dishes on our Greek Feast.

Simple and easy Hummus

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By Marc Spendlove-Kruger Serves: 12
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 1 Hour

Making hummus at home from scratch is a very simple process summarized as follows: first, you soak chickpeas overnight, rinse with fresh water, boil for about an hour, then while still hot mash them in a food processor with Tahini paste, garlic, some salt and lemon juice for a few minutes and voila!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried chickpeas
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 8 tablespoons tahini paste (pureed sesame)
  • Olive oil to taste
  • A ⅔ cup of fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • ⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1

Rinse the dry chickpeas to get rid of any debris, then soak for 10 hours with a ½ teaspoon of baking soda. If you don’t prefer to use baking soda, you’ll just have to boil them for a longer time so they get soft. Baking soda helps to soften them quicker.

2

Once ready, empty the soaked chickpeas in a colander/filter to get rid of the soaking water, then rinse it with fresh cold water really well.

3

Add the chickpeas to a cooking pot with a ½ teaspoon of baking soda (optional, just to speed the process) and then add about 6 cups of water (or until the water covers the chickpeas by about ½ inch).

4

Bring it to a boil on high heat, then let it simmer on low heat for about 1 hour while the pot is covered.

5

Check up on the chickpeas 45 minutes into simmering to see if it’s done. The test is simple, try to crush a chickpea with your fingers, if it crushes easily and feels smooth then it’s done.

6

Once the chickpeas are cooked, and while still hot add them immediately to a food processor with ½ to 1 cup of warm water and grind for 3-5 minutes at low speed.

7

Add the salt and garlic, then slowly start to add the Tahini paste as the food processor grinds away.

8

Once done, slowly add the lemon juice at the end and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes more afterwards. Taste the beautiful puree and see if it needs an adjustment of salt or lemon juice.

Notes

Some folks suggest adding the boiled chickpeas water to the food processor instead of regular warm water. You could do that and result in a slightly richer taste, however, the resulting hummus may be a bit tougher on the tummy due to all the baking soda in the water. As soon as the water starts boiling, a white foam will appear on the top, try to scrape out as much of it as possible (without removing water).

Keeping Hummus

Hummus will keep well in the fridge for up to 10 days. I use a sealed Mason Jar to stop it picking up any fridge odours that may influence the flavours. Also creating an extra seal by adding a pool of good quality olive oil really helps it last. This recipe is so much nicer than the shop bought variety and full of healthy goodness and preservative free.

Wine Matching

As Hummus goes with anything – anything goes here. The secret is to just enjoy and have a fabulous time with your friends. Browse Naked Wines and find something special. 

 

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    Rick Britt
    10th June 2019 at 10:59 pm

    Marc, made this today. Amazing been hunting for a hummus recipe for a while. This is the one. I’ll send a pic, was so delicious! I had to make my own tahini, not as lucky to live in a place to buy some. I’ll send the recipe as well. Thanks for the inspiration as usual.

  • Reply
    Richard Britt
    18th April 2020 at 5:03 pm

    Marc, made this today with flax seed Tahini. Came out great. I did cut the garlic in half, and used two 15 ounce (425ml) cans of garbanzo beans.

    This makes a lot! Ill be in hummus for a while. Making me fortunate!

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