Hummus from ‘Jerusalem’ Recipe (2024)

I know “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” is one of the hot cookbooks just now, but I honestly think Mark Bittman's or Melissa Clark's recipes are better (both in the NYT archives). They both use only about 1/2 as much tahini, use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of olive oil, and they both suggest 1 teaspoon of cumin and/or paprika. I think the olive oil is essential, and because I think raw garlic is a bit strong, I cook the (minced) garlic in the olive oil until golden before adding the garlic and oil to the mixture.

If you are going to add all that sodium with baking soda because you are in a hurry, buy the chick peas in a can and be done with it. Patience is a virtue and hummus without baking soda is very creamy if thinned with fresh lemon juice.

I like to use less tahini and add olive oil. I find too much tahini makes it heavy. This is a totally non authentic thing to do, but I like to add greek yoghurt to make it more creamy. You can use Indian spices, sun dried tomatoes, fresh ginger, fresh basil leaves, olives etc. to create delirious variations.

You can get the same benefit (tender beans) by adding salt (1 tsp./qt.) to both the soaking water and the cooking water (this will not make your beans 'salty'). Salt and baking soda are alkaline which prevents the minerals in hard water from binding to the bean cells and toughening them. You should also avoid adding anything acidic to the beans before they are completely tender. This works on all beans.

A way to check hummus freshness:
If you see small "holes" (Bubbles) in the paste it means it sour, you don't have to open nor taste it, you'll see it on the container sides (...if transparent).
Here in Israel, Hummus eateries makes fresh hummus in small batches and throwing the leftovers at the end of every day (usually noon), never keeping it for the next one!
At home it is recommended to refrigerated for up to 3 days max.

My comments as a reply to several posts:
I like to buy peeled dry chickpeas, which solves several problems :
1. It cuts down the cooking time
2. It makes the chickpeas very creamy (I used to peel my chickpeas)
3. You don't need baking soda
4. You avoid BPA and trashing a can
5. It is cheaper.
In Lebanon, they do not use olive oil, just tahini. You can adjust it the way you want. AND you add cumin.
I would not recommend using the cooking water to thin the hommos (it is gassy).

One cup tahini is too much for this amount of chick peas, half a cup is more like it. Also, I never add baking soda to the cooking water. Instead, add the baking soda to the soaked and drained raw peas, mix and let sit for ten minutes or so, then wash with cold water several times as to remove all of the baking soda before cooking. This results in a more tender chick peas and no after taste of the soda.

Oragnic chickpeas only. I'll skim off the chickpea skins. I use the water from the bottom of the peas as needed. I first made this, and my Lebanese colleague came by immediately for a taste. He said: add more garlic and lemon. I also add very high quality paprika (not smoked) and olive oil, extra Tahini. Pureed in a blender. Best served still warm, with some whole chick peas added, drizzled with olive oil, and Aleppo pepper. My fingernails started growing, (first time in my life) from this.

Never before used baking soda to soften chickpeas, it works wonders. Once refrigerated the agroscopic properties of the chickpea fiber will absorb all the liquid creating a thicker than desired consistency. Save some chickpea water to thin before serving. Great tasting hummus

I haven't tried this yet, and plan on doing so very soon. I have made my own Hummus many times, so I like seeing everyone's take on the recipe. I would like to add one of my own.
I love garlic, so I always add more, but so that it doesn't get over powering, I put in boiling water, with the skin on for 2 minutes. I find that it cut some of the sharpness of the garlic, but doesn't alter the texture at all

Try using softer water. Hard water will prevent any dried bean from softening. Learned this from NPR.

Baking soda was long ago used to soften all kinds of dried beans, but I recall that it has been generally advised against because it can reduce B vitamin and even some protein benefits of the beans. Is it really necessary here?

I thought this was way too stiff. I added water and then olive oli. I prefer less tahini and some spices.

While I believe the minutia of cooking is what separates the good food from the great food, with hummus, that can easily be mitigated with a high speed blender. No worries about baking soda, skinning your chick peas or sacrificing a goat to the hummus gods. My preferred proportions are different but once in my Vitamix, concerns about smoothness go away. I like 2 cans (equiv) with 1/2 cup tahini and 1/3 cup lemon, 3 cloves garlic and salt to taste along with 2 tbs OO.

Ran out of tahini so only used 130g, added a bit of the reserved chickpea cooking water instead, otherwise followed directions: totally delicious

I did use the dry chickpeas for this, and found it a bit too much of a pain to do all the soaking and skimming and picking, etc., that one has to do to render the beans blendable. Next time I'll use canned garbanzos. But there's no question that it's extremely good hummus. I did the following: 1) cut the amount of tahini a bit;2) sauteed the garlic briefly in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, which I then added to the blender; 3) added about half a jar of roasted red peppers to the mix.

This recipe is amazing. The finále result is always a huge success! Thank you!

I would definitely recommend giving this bad boy a bit of time to rest in the fridge if you have the time (preferably overnight). I found that the flavors had developed in a most delightful way day when I got into it day 2.

Soak the dried chickpeas for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight. Pressure cook afterwards, no need if baking soda, wonderfully mushy chickpeas.

Such a useful thing to have lurking in the fridge! Proceed as written, maybe tweaking garlic and lemon. Cumin possibly but the simpler version is a more versatile base for anything. Subtleties may fade after a few days in the fridge, but I enjoy until it’s gone a week or two later.

If you’re taking the time to do this from scratch, the quality of the tahini is essential here. I’ve made this once with standard grocery Tahini, and another with a batch of tahini from my local gourmet spice store. The difference was night and day, between grocery hummus and well, homemade. Good tahini should not taste bitter. If there’s a thick layer of oil separation, the tahini has likely been sitting for a long time and spoiled.

For a more budget-conscious option, instead of the full cup of tahini I subbed 50/50 tahini and olive oil. The tahini was still very present in the final product. The water is critical, the texture will not be right without it.You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times to get everything smooth, I'm not sure it is necessary to keep the machine running throughout the process.

I've found cooking chickpeas in my instant pot then making hummous with the warm chickpeas is not much more difficult than opening cans and rinsing beans, is cheaper, and definitely is more flavourful. We have hard water here so cooking beans normally, even after soaking, isn't always successful. (The baking soda trick may work, haven't tried it.)

I use Chana dal instead of whole chickpeas and I think the result is much better. You can find it at international markets.

If you are using dried chickpeas boil them for 2 hours, at least. I got bean poisoning from the undercooked beans. Not fun. I don’t understand why they would only suggest boiling them for 40 minutes.

Lots of lemon is how I’ve been making Middle Eastern hummus for years. Didn’t know we branding it now.

Look, if you want to make hummus from canned beans, skip this recipe. Mute your comments. This is different & it's MINDBLOWING. Had a 16oz box of beans, so made a huge batch to share w/friends. Used lots of fresh lemon juice, about 1.5 cup tahini & ~20 cloves of roasted garlic (makes the flavor smoother). NO OLIVE OIL. Save your best EVOO for serving. The point here is to let the creaminess of the beans shine on its own. (Add ice water to thin to taste.) I was transported to a Tel Aviv café.