Classic Lebanese Hummus - Laura’s way

Hummus comes together in minutes and will make you a believer in always making it at home. It can be customized with the addition of many ingredients to make it uniquely your hummus!

Laura’s Basic Hummus Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove

• Juice of 1 lemon, plus extra to taste

• 3 oz tahini (don’t be skimpy on the tahini)

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 cans (3 cups) of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed, but save the liquid.

  • Note: my local grocery sells 13 oz cans, if you find 15 oz cans, use a little extra tahini, and lemon to reach desired taste and consistency.

• 1/4 cup good olive oil for garnish

• Sumac, Za’atar, pine nuts and olives for garnish

Preparation:

In the bowl of a food processor, add garlic and garbanzos.

Process until blended, but not too smooth, about 1 minute. They will need the liquid to get smoother.

Add tahini, lemon juice, salt and cumin.

This is where you can add the water reserved from the chickpea can, you can also add fresh cold water, 1 tbl at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Note: my chickpeas are unsalted, so I don’t worry about adding too much sodium from the canned juice. Otherwise, add cold water until you reach the desired consistency.

When it’s ready it will look pale with some texture. You can stop here. This is Laura’s hummus and it’s the way Lebanese people eat it at home.

Note: “Restaurant style hummus”, as my sister calls it, is smoother and thinner. If you like this, style hummus, add an additional 4 Tbl of tahini and cold water 2 Tbl at a time, and process until really smooth, an additional 3 - 4 minutes. Add more cold water if needed to achieve a smoother texture, adjusting seasoning as you go.

Always Taste for seasoning and adjust to your preference.

Presentation is important! Garnish with olive oil, ground cumin, sumac and za’atar (if available), and maybe a sprig of mint as well as olives.

Create a platter with sliced fresh vegetables; cucumber, red peppers, tomatoes, olives, mint, pickled turnips. Have warm pita bread to wrap the veggies in and slather with hummus. Delicious!

Another great Lebanese tradition is to serve it with cooked ground meat and toasted pinenuts on top. It’s made with, garlic, onion, cinnamon and sumac.

You can also play with adding additional flavors, like red peppers, beets, spinach. The base/hummus is the same, just add additional vegetables or chile.