I actually ended up taking another piece of John’s advice: adding some of the mirepoix in his cooking liquid to the blender along with the chickpeas. A little extra carrot and garlic in the blender add depth of flavor without taking away from the chickpeas.
Once the chickpeas are blended, I whisk in my tahini and season to taste with salt, cumin, and olive oil. The hummus is then ready to be chilled and served. I like serving it at just about room temperature, drizzled with olive oil, dusted with paprika or za’atar, and piled with some warm chickpeas or chopped parsley.
The Science of Garlic Flavor
One thing was still bugging me: that garlic. How was it that I was adding a whole head of garlic, but getting only aroma, without any of the hot, pungent garlic flavor I’d expect? I’m the kind of guy who likes to know where his sausage is coming from, which means that I really wanted to get to the bottom of this garlic mystery, but I wasn’t sure where to start. The answer came to me while I was trying to streamline the recipe.
