Like most everyone on the planet, I’m a major hummus fan, and usually the packaged kind from the grocery store will satisfy all my pita chip dipping needs just fine. But on set at a photo shoot last week, Berty, the chef behind Hummus Among Us, blended up his homemade signature hummus recipe then topped it with chickpeas marinated in cumin and garlic, and there’s no question that this simple trick took things to the next level. We begged Berty to share the secrets to his smother, silkier hummus, and thankfully, he spilled the recipe on a Friday so you can dip high, dip low, dip everything in site into this hummus all weekend long.
*photos by wynn myers
I first met Berty when he was running the kitchen at a very fancy, multi-course birthday dinner at a friend’s house. I was blown away by the food, but what was more surprising was learning that Berty’s real culinary passion is recreating the Mediterranean street food representative of his Israeli roots. I am counting the weeks until his food truck opens, where he’ll be dishing up all of his beautiful hummus creations and more.
(By the way, above is Berty’s butternut squash hummus. You can get the recipe for it right over here!)
According to Berty, “This is the most common hummus plate available in Israel — with marinated chickpeas, tahini, and some kind of spicy sauce. It’s meant to be eaten with fresh pita and accompanied with assorted pickles.
For a quick and simple version, use canned chickpeas. For the more authentic quality, use 2 pounds dry chickpeas, soak overnight, and cook for a few hours before continuing with the rest of the recipe.”
Of course, it’s also all about the presentation. Although hummus doesn’t usually win the award for most photogenic, it becomes downright bursting with color when topped with a shower of minced parsley, handful of the marinated chickpeas (below), sprinkle of chili flakes and healthy drizzle of oil.
By the way, tonight I spread some of this leftover hummus on the bottom of a bowl, then topped it with massaged kale, roasted broccoli, avocado, and a soft-boiled egg, and it was one of my favorite veggie bowl dinner creations to date. Do you guys use hummus in any outside-the-box ways? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Classic Hummus With Marinated Chickpeas
Serves 6-8
The Best Homemade Hummus Recipe Uses One Simple Trick
Categories
Classic Hummus
Ingredients
- 2 cans garbanzo bean
- 1 cup tahini paste
- 2-3 lemons, juiced
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Pour chickpeas with the liquid into a sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium flame.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to a low flame and let simmer for 5-6 minutes. Make sure there is liquid left at the end of the process. If it looks like there will not be enough liquid left, add some water during the cooking.
- In a food processor, puree the hot chickpeas with most of the liquid to as smooth a paste as possible. Set aside some of the cooking liquid for later.
- Pour the paste onto a low edge pan or pyrex dish and lay some plastic wrap directly on top of the paste covering it entirely. This will prevent a crust from forming. Set aside or in the fridge to cool for about an hour.
- Once cold, put back in the food processor, and while it's working, whisk in the tahini paste, lemon juice, and some salt. Add a few ice cubes, which will help smoothen the hummus. Whisk in the rest of the reserved cooking liquid as necessary if the paste is too thick.
Marinated Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 oz olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- Bring chickpeas to a boil then turn the flame off and add all the rest of the ingredients. Stir so everything gets incorporated.
- To make the hummus plate, spoon some hummus on a plate and spread in a circular motion so a well forms in the middle.
- Ladle the marinated chickpeas onto the center and garnish with some chopped parsley.
Homemade hummus is the best!! I love putting it on collard greens for a wrap 🙂
https://www.alexisdezayas.wordpress.com
I have to try this recipe 🙂
Miki x
https://littletasteofbeauty.blogspot.it/
I love hummus with celery sticks 🙂 thanks for the recipe! I’ll try it out myself. Have a great day!
I like the wrap idea abive. I’ve also used hummus as a sandwich spread as an alternative to mayo. Top with roasted peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, or even eggplant would be good, if only I knew how to prepare it. You could also add some leftover chicken or maybe lamb? Ok, I wouldn’t ever have lamb around, but some people might.
On a side note, I’ve also made a sandwich spread with leftover sweet potatoes. Just mash them and added some seasonings of choice. I like curry powder and use chicken and either spinach or leftover greens on the sandwich. Or cumin, paprika, salt and a little chili powder for a more southwest flavor. This would be good with roast beef, sliced onion and greens.
It seems like a lot of sodium if you add the liquid from the can, no?!
Oh my god, it looks so delicious yet light and healthy!
Tasty Dinner Recipes