Hummus has turned into a label for many bean dips and even bean-free ones. Yet the classic chickpea-and-tahini blend remains my favorite, especially for spreading inside Pillowy Sourdough Pita pockets or dipping into with baked pita chips. I do veer from traditional recipes by using silky, mellow roasted garlic and a dab of creamy yogurt.
Tahini paste has become popular enough that most grocery stores carry it. You can toast and puree sesame seeds at home if you have a high-powered food processor. Choose hulled sesame seeds for grinding; unhulled ones have a bitter note and a firmness that strains the processor’s motor.
I prefer the texture of home-cooked chickpeas, also sold as garbanzo beans, to canned ones. After an overnight cold-water soak, simmering the dried beans in fresh water for about 90 minutes makes them fork-soft. A pinch of baking soda in the water helps the beans soften; salt has the opposite effect. Canned beans can be blended into hummus too, but find ones with little or no added salt or consider using water instead of the surrounding liquid, called aquafaba, to smooth out the puree.
If your hummus still seems gritty, rubbing off and discarding the skins may be worth the effort. Warm chickpeas also break down more easily, so try simmering canned ones in fresh water for about 15 minutes if they seem too firm. For a thermal shock that turns warm home-cooked or canned chickpeas into a fluffier puree, toss a couple of ice cubes into the food processor with the beans.
Roasted Garlic Hummus
Makes about 2 cups
1 large head garlic
Olive oil for drizzling
1-3/4 cups (or one 16-ounce can) unsalted cooked chickpeas, undrained
5 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 teaspoon paprika
1/3 teaspoon ground coriander
1–2 tablespoons plain yogurt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Pinch of cayenne powder (optional)
Set the head of garlic on a baking tray and drizzle with oil; if thinly papered, wrap it in foil. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until the garlic’s papery skin begins to brown and the cloves soften. Let cool, and then peel and lightly mash five cloves; refrigerate the rest in a lidded container for up to two weeks.
Set a strainer over a large glass measuring cup and pour the chickpeas into it, collecting the liquid. In a food processor, combine the chickpeas and 1/4 cup of the collected liquid. Puree the beans for about 15 seconds, until coarsely ground. Add the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, paprika and coriander; pulse briefly, taste and then add the yogurt, salt and cayenne as desired before pureeing to your preferred smoothness.
Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil, or store in the refrigerator and eat within one week. Makes about 2 cups.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.