Base Hummus

Prep: 5 Minutes | Cook: 10 Minutes | Resting Time: N/A | Total: 15 mins

Makes 6 Servings

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Ingredients

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tbsp Tahini

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

3 cloves Garlic

16 oz can of Chickpeas + ½ can of Chickpea water

1/2 tbsp Oregano

1 tsp salt (to taste)

Cold water (as needed)

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Recipe Summary

1. Add oil, tahini and garlic into the blender

2. Add chickpeas + chickpea water to the blender

3. Add seasoning and blend until smooth

4. Serve with pita or vegetables

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Recipe 

1. Add olive oil, tahini, lemon juice and garlic to the blender. Pulse several times until garlic is broken up.

2. Add chickpeas and chickpea water to the blender. Pulse several times until the hummus mixture begins to form and no whole chickpeas remain.

3. Once the hummus mixture begins to form, run the blender on low for 30 seconds. Scrape down any hummus from the side of the blender with a spatula.

4. Add oregano and salt to the blender and run on low for 15 seconds.

5. If the hummus mixture is not as creamy as you’d like, add cold water 1/2 tbsp at a time and blend for 10 seconds on low. Add cold water 1/2 tbsp at a time and blend until the texture is to your liking.

6. Optional If you’d like to make a flavored hummus, add additional ingredients here. This can include roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, or roasted pine nuts.

7. Scoop hummus from the blender into a bowl and garnish with olive oil, and either fresh or dried herbs. Serve with warm pita, or fresh vegetables.

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Why the Recipe Works

Hummus is a wonderful creamy dish that has Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origins. At it’s simplest form it combines chickpeas, tahini, and lemon to create a simple, but delicious spread.

To make this base hummus recipe, we add garlic (flavor), oregano (flavor) and olive oil (flavor and texture). These ingredients help make the hummus even more creamy

Tahini is essentially sesame seed butter created by blending or mashing sesame seeds until they create a paste. The nuttiness of Tahini is a great compliment to chickpeas which also have a slight nuttiness, but have a much more mild flavor than sesame. This is balanced by the acidity of the lemon juice and the garlic flavor, which cuts through the strong flavor of tahini. This combination works great as a dip for vegetables and pita or as a spread in sandwiches.