HORS D'OEUVRES: Hummus

Hummus rocks my world. And I've gotten pretty picky about the whole darn and delicious chickpea spread. I despise most store-bought brands these days. Call me a snot. But I swear they taste so chock full of preservatives and weirdo-ish.

I've been making my own hummus now for a year or so and love it. The recipe comes from my cookbook, Mastering Hors D'oeuveres by Williams-Sonoma.



I feel I've mastered the recipe well. But one thing I keep going back to is the proper texture of hummus. I remember seeing an article that I skimmed in Cook's Illustrated that talked about "the perfect" consistency. I can't remember what it was. But here's what I say. You make your hummus the consistency you like. When I made these last three batches I made two different texture and loved them both.

Here's the recipe. It's not a quick and easy one, but it is so worth it.

If you remember I made white bean dip, and this was a variation on it. I love this cookbook because it focus on a 'master' recipe where you learn various skills then it gives you like six variations on that one recipe. Love it.

Hummus
by HORS D'OEUVRES Originally published as MASTERING HORS D'OEUVRES by Williams-Sonoma

Serve with broccoli or cauliflower florets blanched for 3-5 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 cup ( 7 oz./220 g) dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
5 3/4 (46 fl oz/1.4 l) low-sodium chicken stock (I use Shirley J Chicken Bouillon and water)
1 diced yellow onion
1 bay leaf
2 large garlic cloves (halved)
1/3 cup (3 fl oz/80 ml) fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (2 1/2 oz/75 g) tahini
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. freshly ground white pepper
sweet or hot paprika (to taste)

Directions:
Sort through and soak 1 cup dried chickpeas for at least 8 hours.

Next, drain the chickpeas and add them to a saucepan with chicken stock, diced yellow onion and bay leaf. Simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until tender, 45-55 minutes. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf.

In a food processor, coarsely puree all the beans and onion. Add garlic cloves and process to combine. With the processor running, slowly pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid through the feed tube and then add 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup tahini and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. When the puree is smooth, transfer it to a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon each of cumin and kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and adjust the seasonings. Just before serving, sprinkle lightly with sweet or hot paprika.

*I love to serve with homemade pita crisps, broccoli, cauliflower and red peppers.

Enjoy!