Try adding basil or olives to your hummus too! It's really delicious, especially with the Pita Bread!

Yum! I make a similar hummus, but a bit looser (juice of one lemon, a little more oil, and sometimes a little water to smooth it out). I find it thickens back up as it rests.

It's also quite good finished with olive oil and a dusting of paprika instead of cracked pepper.

How long does tahini keep, and what is the best way to store it? I only use it occasionally when I make hummus, so I hate to buy large quantities.

If stored in the refrigerator after opening Tahini will keep for months and months. AS for buying it in larger quantities I agree, smaller quantities are usually better. With all nut butters it's best to buy them fresh and use them up sooner than later. But fear not, tahini will keep for a very long time. Just a suggestion, try using some of your tahini to make a dressing, it's really very good.

This hummus is definately the best hummus that my family and I have had. It is so easy to make and is so delicious. It is definately better than any hummus that you will get in a restaurant or grocery store. I love the fact that I can make it for my family without all of the perservatives that you would get if you buy it in the grocery store. Thank you Rouxbe for the great recipe.

Very good. My husband and I really like the cumin.

Toast a cup of raw sesame seeds in a small skillet, stirring over low heat until they are fragrant. Don't overdo it because they can very quickly become bitter from over-cooking. Allow to cool. Using a food processor or stick blender with container, whirl them up until they are like a fluffy nut butter. Add to hummus mixture - it's a revelation! Experiment with different toasting times. Make extra, blend with salt and you have gomasio - sesame salt! Delectable, nutty condiment for almost anything you can think of. The more you can reduce the elements of a simple dish like hummus, the more you can appreciate the subtleties of each ingredient!

Great idea Jack, thanks so much. I am going to do this for sure :-)

Can/should olive oil be refrigerated after opening and brought to room temperature prior to using and the put back in the fridge? Will it prevent it from going rancid? Thank You

Is it necessary to add and process the ingredients separately in several steps o can all the ingredients be put in the food processor at once? I have tried making it that way and couldn't really tell a difference. thank you

I do it separately as I want to the garlic to be minced as fine as possible before I add the chickepeas. I also don't want the chickpeas to be too mushy, which is why I add them after the garlic.

That being said, you can do it however you like. Perhaps you might enjoy a few bigger chunks of garlic...up to you. This is just the way I enjoy it and it really only takes another second in the food processor. Cheers!

No it does not need to be refrigerated. It should be stored somewhere dry and dark (such as a pantry or cupboard, or the bottle itself). Using it and enjoying it will prevent it from going rancid :-)

If you don't have pita bread, toasted Italian bread or crackers is great too!

Reserve some of the liquid from the canned chickpeas to use in achieving the consistency you seek. The liquid has lots of flavor and the extra richness improves the mouth-feel. This weekend I heard an NPR food program where the host advised that excessively-thick hummus could be thinned with more olive oil (!!!) or, forgive me, removing the skins from the chickpeas. Where in the world do they dig up this stuff? Color me very disappointed.

I have heard of this as well...in fact, I did a post about it a while back. It really does make for super smooth hummus, just not sure if I have the patience for it.

Here is the URL for the post, if you are interested.

blog.rouxbe.com/the-smoothest-and-creamiest-hummus

Cheers!

I hope its the last time i hear and see black pepper in my hummus.
to finish off any good humus(trust me im middle eastern) you need papprica and a dash of cumin, and a good splash of olive oil.
regarding the hummus itself heres a few professional tips:
the lemon, salt, pepper(white and optional), and tahini are to be combined seperatly in order to MAKE a tahini.
raw tahini is great on salads and such, but in order to make tahini sauce you need the lemon juice and garlic and salt and water to make it the back bone of any good hummus.
after you have made your tahini sauce, you can either add in some parsly and enjoy over a warm pita bread, or keep it for your hummus.
next, you need to avoid completely from canned hummus, there are so many muslims around the world...go get the peas yourself, its easy and heaps cheaper, and i promise you it tastes much better.
then you let them rest over night in a bowl of water, you may also add a splash of club soda, and by morning they should double or triple in size, WHICH, will break free the skin and no more hard work seperating that...nature does it all by itself.
after you have done that, you can go on as shown here...pulse the hummus few times, add the tahini, and you done. olive oil comes last, as garnish.
if you wanna make it super delicious, and super authentic, u strain the peas and place them in a large pot, fill in with water, juice from one lemon, with the lemon itself, cumin as desired, and salt and pepper also and cook untill they become soft, and then puree it all together.
if not thick enough, u can always add raw tahini as it thickens everything it touches.

and yet another tip dear Dawn, for your peanut sauce...try to add some raw tahini to it, it goes extremely well with the nutty flavors and again, works as a thickening agent, and it loves spices

enjoy

I actually tried the club soda method as one of the users stated above, but it did not work for me and I left them soaking in them for a couple of hours. Still I decided I wanted to try the hummus without the skin so I peeled them by hand (with my bf's help) and it came out really smooth and creamy and was delicious!!

Buy the dried beans yourself, soak them in water over night - its better to change the water at least once during the night.
Cook the beans over small heat for few hours, replacing the water 2-3 times during the cooking, start with fresh cold water every time and rinse the beans tossing them around - it will help to peal them later.
Baking soda might speed up the cooking time but I personally don't like the aftertaste.

When the beans are very soft peal them and while still hot move them to a food processor. Keep some of the last cooking water to moist the paste and keep some beans for decoration.

After the beans are smooth add the raw tahini, lemon juice, garlic (I like it chopped), salt, paprika and little bit cumin powder. If the paste is to thick just add little bit of the cooking water. There is no need to add olive oil to the paste.

Try serving the Humus fresh and hot :-)

Enjoy!

Dawn,
Thanks for the great recipe. I have made it many times with good results. I usually make a bigger batch and wondered how long it can be used after refrigerated.
Thanks

If stored properly, hummus will keep for several days, if not longer. As long as it looks and smells fresh then it should be fine. Cheers!

I'm with Jack E. I always make fresh tahini, which is very simple to do. I also avoid canned chick peas (garbanzo beans) and make them fresh using a pressure cooker. I soak the dried chick peas overnight and then add a bit of olive oil and lemon juice to the refreshed cooking water. Only 17 minutes from start to finish and, with the pressure cooker method, the skins practically fall off on their own.

Great recipe. Hope this helps.

I have to confirm that taking the extra time to soak and cook the dried chick peas was indeed a taste revelation.

And I have to credit Rouxbe for giving me the wherewithal to do it!

Thanks, and next challenge is making tahini a la Jack E.

Can you process the ingredients in a blender rather than a food processor?

usually the blender are not big enough and don't have enough surface to produce good results - i usually use foor processor

Yes, Uzi is correct. Blenders are better for mixtures that contain a lot of liquid. The small space at the bottom isn't enough to pull the ingredients down and create a smooth texture. A food processor will provide better results. Cheers!

Ok great - thanks for the advice