Hummus is Levantine and Egyptian in origin, but the puréed mixture of chickpeas and sesame has been eaten all over the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and North Africa for centuries. Its flavor and relative ratio of ingredients vary wildly from region to region, but today I’m focusing on the Israeli version familiar in the US, which is made with tons of tahini and a touch of cumin. The problem is, it’s hard to find a perfect batch. Store-bought hummus typically has a great, ultra-smooth and -creamy texture, but it lacks flavor and is not easily customizable to our own personal tastes. Homemade hummus, especially when made with dried chickpeas, may have amazing flavor that we can play with any way we like, but it’s quite difficult to get it as smooth as the store-bought stuff. So what if you want hummus that is smooth and flavorful?
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks soaking, peeling, boiling, pressure-cooking, blending, puréeing, smashing, smooshing, occasionally trashing, and, of course, eating chickpeas to figure out all the tricks in the hummus book. Here’s what I’ve learned so far. (And yes, there is a way to pack in both flavor and texture without the tedious task of peeling hundreds of individual chickpeas!)
