I have been trying to make a good hummus recipe for years. My baseline is the hummus at Taza in Eton Collection. Their hummus is smooth, rich and delicious. My hummus has always turned out a bit too textural. Also, I tend to go outside the traditional hummus recipe sphere. I like to add different ingredients in to change the experience. Red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese or load it up with cilantro and lime juice. Sometimes cannellini beans make it into the processor rather than the chick peas. I made a black bean hummus once that was more like a bean spread than hummus. Doesn’t really matter as long as you are having a good time doing it, right?
This time I really wanted to come as close to a traditional hummus as I could. However, there are a few things that I can’t change when I make my hummus. I roast the garlic before putting it in the blender. Raw garlic tends to stick to me for a week, so I roast it up which always adds a savory component to the hummus that we really like. Also, I have to put some type of green element into the hummus. I believe that it really gives it a more lively flavor. For this recipe, I tossed in a small handful of only the leaves from Italian Flat Leaf parsley.
Another change that I made this time around was to process the hummus in my Vitamix rather than the food processor. I also processed it for several minutes rather than the minute I had always done in the Cuisinart. But, the secret to this creamy batch of hummus was something that I had never thought of before. I had some sour cream in the fridge and thought that it might really enhance the flavor. Not only did it enhance the flavor, but it added a level of moisture to the hummus that had always been lacking previously. Finally, I figured out the key missing ingredient after all these years: sour cream. Quick kitchen tip: if you don’t have sour cream on hand but do have fresh lemon and heavy whipping cream, try this- 1 tsp lemon juice in 1 cup heavy whipping cream. Mix thoroughly. Let sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes and you now have sour cream. It’s that easy.
The topping that I came up with was inspired by some hummus that my friend Jamie and I found while on a trip looking for hydroponics equipment. We stopped at this dumpy little market near Stow, Ohio and both got a big batch of hummus with some type of green topping on it. It tasted like green pepper infused oil, with small bits of roasted green peppers in it. I figured I would give it a shot and it turned out great when we kicked it up with some cayenne powder. In addition to the roasted green peppers, we added some fine dice red peppers for crunch and some toasted sesame seeds as well. You could easily toast some pine nuts, which are delicious on hummus, but I didn’t have any in the pantry.
This recipe takes a little time with garlic needing a roast as well as the green pepper, but it is most definitely worth it. I made a double recipe for the party that we were attending. This will make a lot of hummus, but it will hold in the fridge for a while if it lasts that long.
Makes a lot of hummus.
Ingredients for the hummus:
2 cans garbanzo (chick peas) drained and rinsed
2 lemons, juiced
1 head roasted garlic
1 tsp ground cumin seed
1/3 cup good tahini paste
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 or more cups olive oil (more if the consistency is too thick. Or add water if you are avoiding adding more oil.)
Small handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves
Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper
Ingredients for the hummus topping:
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup sesame seeds
Cayenne powder to taste
Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper
Ok- let’s get to roasting because that takes the longest amount of time. I use the toaster oven to roast my garlic because it comes up to temperature faster than a standard oven and uses less energy. Set the temperature to 425 degrees. To roast the garlic, first trim the top to expose the cloves. Put into a ramekin root side down and coat with oil. The ramekin should be about half way full with oil. Top with salt and pepper. Wrap the ramekin tightly in foil and toss into the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. After about an hour, take the garlic out of the oven. Cut the top of the foil off with a knife- it is going to be extremely hot so be careful!! The garlic should look golden. Here’s a quick tip: take some tongs and turn the garlic over in the oil. It will bubble, so please do this carefully. I do this while the ramekin sits on the stove. Let it stay in the oil until you need it. Because you cut the tops off the garlic before you started, getting the cloves out is really easy. Simply squeeze the garlic head from the bottom and the cloves will all pop out easily.
If you are making the topping, now is a great time to start on it. You can either grill the green pepper or roast it over a gas burner on your range. Once it is charred all over, toss the pepper into a brown lunch bag, fold over the top and let sit for about 7-10 minutes. Once the pepper has cooled, remove from the bag. Cut off the top and remove the seeds. Slice off the bottom so you have a cylinder left. Slice the cylinder open and trim down the ribs with your chefs knife. Turn the pepper over and scrape the skin off gently with the back side of your chefs knife. Dice the pepper evenly and put into the olive oil. Sprinkle in however much cayenne or paprika you would like with some salt and cracked pepper. Sauce done.
Toasting sesame seeds takes about 3 minutes. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Toss in the sesame seeds. After about a minute, shake them around the pan. Continue to shake until they have turned golden brown. Voila! Toasted sesame seeds.
So let’s make the hummus now. In a blender or food processor, toss in the chick peas, roasted garlic cloves, cumin, tahini, parsley leaves, lemon juice and olive oil. Begin to process. Toss in the sour cream and process until smooth. If it is too thick, add water by the tablespoon- it will thin the hummus quickly.
Serve in a shallow dish in which you can spread the hummus easily around. I made a shallow impression in the center for my green pepper sauce. Sprinkle the chopped red pepper, sesame seeds and some chopped flat parsley leaves around the dish. Grab some pita, baked pita chips, vegetables or flat bread and scoop up the goodness.
This is restaurant quality hummus. Photo by Scott Groth
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