Garlic Lover’s Hummus

Shout out to all those people out there who opt for more garlic (always more garlic), knowing full well that their breath will reek for the rest of the night (and possibly the next morning). I am one of you. This hummus is for you.

I found this recipe in Flavor by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage, and immediately fell in love with it. I made a few adjustments, but besides that, it pretty much holds true to the original. Now, this recipe uses chickpeas that you soak overnight and then cook yourself. It is definitely a time commitment, so I totally get it if you absolutely have no desire to do this (truth be told, sometimes I’d much rather just opt for the easy route). If that’s the case, simply use drained canned chickpeas instead, no biggie (I swear, I won’t tell a soul)!

This hummus goes really well with plain pita bread (I love Paul Hollywood’s recipe from How to Bake). It is also amazing with Man’oushe za’atar (za’atar flatbread); Sumac by Anas Atassi has a fantastic recipe for this that will, quite frankly, blow your socks off. I’d strongly recommend–no, I’m TELLING you to make this flatbread. It’s one of those game-changers that you had no idea was missing from your life until you try it out for the first time; then there’s no going back.

SO…basically, if you plan on making this hummus, PLEASE, I beg of you, make the za’atar flatbread to go with it. Or don’t. Your loss.

Garlic Hummus Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 125g dried chickpeas (or 300g canned chickpeas, drained. If using canned, skip the next two ingredients)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 bulb of garlic, with the very top cut off to expose the cloves
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3 TBS Tahini
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 3 TBS water, ice-cold
• 3/4 tsp flaked salt, plus more to taste
• Black pepper and chili powder, to taste

Directions:

Step 1: The day before you want to serve the hummus, soak the chickpeas in cold water (enough to cover the top of the chickpeas and then about an inch more) and mix 1/2 tsp of baking soda.

Step 2: The next day, start by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Then drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them into a large pot with 4 cups of water and 1/4 tsp of baking soda. Bring this to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it has reached a boil, lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook for about 35 minutes.

Step 3: After this, remove the lid, add a 1/2 tsp of salt and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. At this point, the chickpeas should be very soft and squish between your fingers; if they don’t, you’ll need to cook them for a little longer. Drain.

Step 4: While cooking the chickpeas, drizzle bulb of garlic with 1 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper. Wrap the bulb up tightly in aluminum foil and place in the oven until the garlic has softened and is golden brown on top, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and foil and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the cloves and discard the outer layer (the papery skin).

Step 5: Add this garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, and all of the remaining ingredients to a food processor. Blend this until smooth (this could take a couple of minutes).

Step 6: Scoop the hummus into a bowl and top with olive oil, chili powder, salt, pepper, and whatever fixings you like. Serve along with lots of za’atar flatbread or pita bread. Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!:)