Quick Hummus

At every apéro in France, you can be 100% sure there'll be a hummus can somewhere. It is so popular that you'll easily find it highlighted in the refrigerated section of your closest Monoprix or Carrefour, usually with a dozen varieties -spicy, without garlic, with red bell pepper, carrot hummus, you name it. 

I myself bought my fair share of ready-made hummus. Truthfully, it comes in handy ; yet no matter the brand nor quality, it's always been a disappointment, taste and texture-wise.

After a bit of research, I had already found a way to make decent hummus within 15 minutes. By that time I wanted a greener version -I love my herbs ! That is why I developed a Quick Green Hummus recipe, with chickpeas and green peas.

But classics are popular for a reason. A few days ago, I had a craving for real hummus. Without funny peas nor exotic veggies nor herbs. 

I quickly adapted the recipe, which is therefore exquisitely simple -5 ingredients besides your cupboard essentials ; 15 minutes needed.

There are only 3 simple steps in this recipe : 

• Gather your ingredients. Peel your garlic & remove its germ (3mn) ; 
• Remove your chickpeas' skins. Pour your chickpeas in a large bowl filled with water, and stir with your hands, slightly rubbing them as you go without crushing them. This will remove most of the chickpeas' skins effortlessly ; they will float towards the surface (5mn) ; 
• Blend your ingredients (7mn).

I must apologize though to my Middle eastern people, because such a recipe is not perfectly authentic ; the real way to go would be to you to cook dry chickepeas instead of using canned ones, as the taste is better ; or, as a shortcut, to cook canned ones 20 minutes to make them overcooked, resulting in a softer texture. If you have a bit of extra time, definitely do one or the other ! The end result would be even creamier. But I didn't feel the need here, as the taste and texture remain amazing, all for the time it takes to cook pasta. 

The only extra step I am willing to put here besides blending it all together, is to remove the chickpeas' skins. I find that it truly helps in achieving a less grainy texture. You could forgo this step if you want an even quicker recipe, as it won't affect the end taste ; in this case, I recommend using a tbsp more tahini or olive oil, and a tbsp more of water.

No need for a blender by the way ; a food processor is perfect here. 

That's all ! You won't go back to store-bought, trust me !

Quick Hummus - Recipe

Ingredients, process - Advice & key points

• Tahini : This ingredient is key in achieving a creamy, silky texture for your hummus. Many Westernized recipes don't include enough tahini ; some Israeli ones go as far as putting equal amounts of tahini and chickpeas. Taste as you go, but I recommend at least 4 tablespoons here. 
• Using ice cubes will help in achieving that creamy texture ! If you don't have any, just replace them with cold water.
• Fyi, this recipe yields a very large bowl of hummus! Vastly enough for 6 voracious eaters -more likely 10 regular portion sizes.
  • If you want an apéro-sized bowl, halve the recipe ! 
  • I would still advise you to make the whole recipe -I use leftover hummus in wraps and sandwiches, which is always positively yummy. 

How to serve your Quick Hummus

• Toppings : My favourite toppings for my Hummus are the following :
  • actual chickpeas,
  • olive oil (most important topping imho),
  • sumac
  • and paprika.

• What to eat your Hummus with ? The crowd's favourites often are :
  
  • small pieces of pita bread, or any other type of bread available ;
  • carrot sticks (their sweetness pairs perfectly with hummus).

But you can definitely get creative and use red bell pepper strips, celery strips, radishes, crackers...

Now let's apéro !