Traditional Palestinian Hummus
Hummus is arguably one of the most iconic dishes to come out of the Levant. It’s creamy, it’s got a touch of lemon and garlic, it’s filling, and it’s just one of several mezze dishes we have. In Arabic, hummus just means chickpeas. So sometimes when we say hummus we’re talking about the dip I’m sharing today and sometimes we’re talking about the chickpea itself - it really just depends on the context.
I’m also a traditionalist. I love to learn the true recipes as they were intended to be made before I start playing around with new flavors or ideas. It’s the best way to establish a strong foundation. Overall hummus is a very easy dish to make but one note is that technique and patience matter. If you try to rush this you won’t get the result you’re looking for. So take your time, be patient, and I promise you’ll make an incredible batch of hummus every single time.
Traditional Palestinian Hummus:
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Ingredients
2 cups Dry Chickpeas
1 cup Tahini
2-3 Garlic Cloves
2-3 Lemons
1-1.5 cups Cold Water
Salt to taste
Instructions
First step is to start with dry chickpeas. Scoop 2 cups of dry chickpeas, place in a large bowl and fill with room temperature water. Let them sit and soak overnight until they hydrate and double in size. Then discard all the water and set the chickpeas aside.
Next we need to cook the chickpeas. They usually take an hour to cook but for hummus we want to overcook them so they’re really soft. So for this recipe we want to boil them for 2 hours. Then reserve a half cup of the boiled chickpea water and strain the remaining water out. Let the boiled chickpeas sit and cool for about an hour.
Once they chickpeas are at room temp, bring out your blender or large food processor. Add the chickpeas to the blender along with the reserved chickpea water, tahini, garlic cloves, juice of the lemons, and salt to taste. From here blend everything until you have kind of chunky consistency.
And last to make the humus fluffy and creamy. Slowly add small amounts of really cold water and blend. I add anywhere from 1/8 to 1/4 cup at a time. Each time you blend, check the consistency and repeat until you have a really nice smooth and creamy hummus. For my recipe I measured out 1 cup of cold water in total.
From here you can plate right away or store in an air tight container and it should last you at least 2 weeks!