Hummus

• 2 canschickpeas · 15 oz each, drained
• 1/2 tspbaking soda
• 2/3 cuptahini · well stirred
• 1lemon · juiced
• 2garlic cloves
• 1/2 tspground cumin
• 1/3 cupice water · added gradually
• 2 tbspextra-virgin olive oil · to serve
• 1/2 tsppaprika or sumac · to serve
• kosher salt · to taste

Method

1. 1

   Start from canned chickpeas, but do not stop there

   You do not need to soak and cook dried chickpeas overnight to beat the tub, but you cannot just blend chickpeas straight from the can either, which is where most homemade hummus goes wrong and comes out grainy and bland. Canned chickpeas are the sensible base, but they are firm and their skins are intact, and both of those are the enemies of smoothness. The good news is a few extra minutes of cooking transforms them: what makes restaurant hummus silky is chickpeas cooked well past the point of holding their shape, until they are almost falling apart, so treat the tin as a starting point rather than the finished ingredient.

2. 2

   Simmer the chickpeas soft with a pinch of baking soda

   Tip the drained chickpeas into a pan, cover them with water, add a good half-teaspoon of baking soda, and simmer them for around fifteen to twenty minutes until they are very soft and their skins are floating loose. The baking soda raises the pH, which breaks down the tough pectin in the skins and the chickpea flesh so they collapse easily and blend to a cream, and it loosens the papery skins so they lift off almost on their own. Skim off the skins and froth that rise to the surface as it simmers. This single step is the biggest difference between a gritty homemade hummus and the airy, smooth kind, and it costs nothing but a few minutes.

3. 3

   Get rid of the skins for true silk

   The papery skin on each chickpea is the main source of grittiness, so the smoother you want your hummus the more seriously you take removing them. Simmering with baking soda does most of the work by loosening them, and many float off while you skim; drain the chickpeas and most of the rest rinse away or rub off easily in a bowl of water with your hands, rising to the top to be poured off. You do not have to peel every single one by hand for a good result, but the more you remove the closer you get to that restaurant-smooth texture. If you are short on time, the baking-soda simmer alone gets you most of the way.

4. 4

   Whip the tahini and lemon first, before the chickpeas

   This is the counterintuitive move that changes everything, and skipping it is why so much homemade hummus is dense and flat. Before the chickpeas go anywhere near the machine, blend the tahini with plenty of fresh lemon juice and the garlic on their own. The acid seizes the tahini into a thick, stiff paste and then, as you drizzle in ice-cold water a little at a time with the motor running, it loosens and lightens into a pale, glossy, whipped cream. Building this airy emulsion first gives the whole hummus its fluffy body and creamy mouthfeel; add everything at once instead and you get a heavy purée. Get the base pale and mousse-like before moving on.

5. 5

   Use good, loose, fresh tahini, because it is the backbone

   Hummus is really a tahini dip carried by chickpeas, so the tahini is the flavour, and a cheap, bitter, or stale one will sink the whole thing no matter what else you do. Use a good-quality tahini that pours loosely and smells nutty and toasty rather than acrid; the best are usually made from hulled Ethiopian or Levantine sesame and stir back together smoothly. Give the jar a thorough stir before measuring, since the oil separates and the solids at the bottom are where bitterness hides. Do not be shy with the quantity, either: a proper hummus is generously tahini-rich, which is what gives it richness and body without any dairy.

6. 6

   Season it to taste with lemon, garlic, salt, and cumin

   A flat hummus is almost always an under-seasoned one, so build the flavour boldly and taste as you go. You want enough fresh lemon that it reads bright and a little sharp, enough salt that the chickpea and sesame flavours come forward, and a clove or two of garlic, though blending the raw garlic with the lemon first tames its harshness so it does not turn acrid and overpowering. A little ground cumin adds warmth and that characteristic savoury depth, and a pinch is traditional. Season, blend, then taste on a piece of bread or vegetable rather than off the spoon, since the seasoning reads differently once it is being scooped, and adjust the lemon and salt until it tastes alive.

7. 7

   Blend long with ice water until pale and airy

   Smoothness is a function of time, not just power, so once the softened, skinned chickpeas go in with the whipped tahini base, let the machine run for a full few minutes rather than a few seconds. As it blends, drizzle in ice-cold water a spoonful at a time until the hummus lightens in colour and turns fluffy, soft, and pale; the cold water helps it whip up airy rather than dense and stops the machine heating and dulling the flavour. Stop to scrape down the sides so nothing escapes the blade. It will look too loose in the machine but firms up as it rests and chills, so err on the side of softer and airier than you think you want.

8. 8

   Rest it, then finish with oil and something on top

   Hummus tastes noticeably better after twenty or thirty minutes resting, which lets the garlic mellow and the flavours settle, and it firms slightly to the right scooping texture. To serve it the proper way, spread it in a shallow bowl and use the back of a spoon to make a swirl or well, then flood that well with good extra-virgin olive oil and a dusting of paprika or sumac. From there, top it however you like: a scatter of whole warm chickpeas, chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts, or a spoon of harissa all work. Warm pita, crisp vegetables, or falafel alongside turn it from a dip into a meal, and that pool of olive oil is not optional, it is where a lot of the flavour lives.