Israeli Hummus Recipes

ZAHAV'S HUMMUS 'TEHINA'

Steps:

• In a bowl, cover chickpeas by at least 2 inches of cold water. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and let soak at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse.
• In a medium pot, cover soaked chickpeas by at least 4 inches of water. Add the remaining teaspoon baking soda and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high and let cook at a vigorous simmer until chickpeas are quite soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (Overcooked chickpeas are the secret to creamy hummus, so don't worry if they start to break down a little.) Drain.
• While chickpeas are cooking, make the tahini sauce. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let mixture sit 10 minutes. Add tahini, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the cumin, and blend until a thick paste forms. Add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water while blender is running, a little at a time, until sauce is smooth. You're looking for a perfectly smooth, creamy sauce.
• Add the warm, drained chickpeas to blender with tahini mixture. Blend until perfectly smooth and not at all grainy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally. This blending may take upward of about 2 minutes; just keep going until the mixture is ultracreamy and fluffy, adding a little water if you need it to make the contents of the blender move. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt, lemon juice and/or cumin as needed.
• To serve, spread the hummus on a plate, dust with paprika, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley.

ISRAELI-STYLE HUMMUS

Steps:

• Place chickpeas and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a medium bowl and add cold water to cover by 2". Cover and let sit at room temperature until chickpeas have doubled in size, 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse.
• Combine soaked chickpeas and remaining 1 teaspoon baking soda in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover by at least 2". Bring to a boil, skimming surface as needed. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until chickpeas are tender and really falling apart, 45-60 minutes. Drain; set aside.
• Meanwhile, process garlic, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until coarsely pureed; let sit 10 minutes to allow garlic to mellow.
• Strain garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible. Return liquid to food processor; discard solids. Add tahini and pulse to combine. With motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water by the tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick. Add chickpeas and cumin and process, occasionally scraping down sides, until mixture is extremely smooth, about 4 minutes. Thin with more water if you prefer a looser consistency; taste and season with salt, more lemon juice, and more cumin as desired.
• Spoon hummus into a shallow bowl, making a well in the center, and drizzle liberally with oil. Top as desired.

BEST ISRAELI HUMMUS

Steps:

• Blend garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, salt and lemon juice in food processor until smooth and fluffy.
• Spoon onto small plate, flatten and add garnish per serving.
• Serve with warm pita bread, pickles and cherry peppers.

HOMEMADE ISRAELI HUMMUS (PAREVE)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the chickpeas in a large bowl. Add enough cold water to cover the chickpeas by several inches. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and allow to soak overnight .
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place in a large stockpot, add the baking soda , and enough cold water to cover the chickpeas by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chickpeas are soft enough to crush between your fingers.
• Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain and rinse the chickpeas. Reserve a tablespoon or two of the cooked chickpeas for garnish, if desired.
• Put the cooked chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika in a food processor . Puree until smooth. If the hummus is too thick or dry, add a bit of the cooking liquid, more lemon juice, or tahini to taste.
• To serve, place the hummus in a dish, and use the back of a spoon to make a shallow well in the center. Place any reserved chickpeas in the well, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with freshly chopped parsley and regular or smoked paprika.

CREAMY ISRAELI-STYLE HUMMUS

Steps:

• Combine 2 tablespoons chickpea liquid and 1 cup chickpeas in a bowl for hummus. Reserve remaining chickpeas and liquid for another use.
• Combine olive oil, peanut butter, lemon juice, sesame oil, cumin, onion powder, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour in chickpeas and liquid and blend until creamy, 2 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with green onions to serve.

MICHAEL'S ISRAELI HUMMUS

Steps:

• For Israeli tahini, see my recipe for Michael's Israeli Tahina Sauce (http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/michael-s-basic-israeli-tehina-sauce-523932).).
• Place the chickpeas in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the baking soda and cover with plenty of water. (The chickpeas will double in volume, so use more water than you think you need.) Soak the chickpeas overnight at room temperature. The next day, drain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water.
• Place the chickpeas in a large pot with the remaining 1 teaspoon baking soda and add cold water to cover by at least 4 inches. Bring the chickpeas to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Lower the heat to medium, cover the pot, and continue to simmer for about 1 hour, until the chickpeas are completely tender. Then simmer them a little more. (The secret to creamy hummus is overcooked chickpeas; don't worry if they are mushy and falling apart a little.) Drain.
• Combine the chickpeas, tehina sauce, salt and cumin in a food processor. Puree the hummus for several minutes, until it is smooth and uber-creamy. Then puree it some more!
• To serve, spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, dust with paprika, top with parsley and more tehina sauce if you like, and drizzle generously with oil.