Ethereally smooth hummus
I swear I didn't name it. My sister had sent me the link after I posted about making falafel. My friend, D, loves hummus but doesn't like it when it's gritty or chalky. This seemed like it would be right up her alley.
Today's cast!
Once the skins began to loosen, I drained the water and put the beans into a pot on the stove. Over medium heat, I sautéed them with some baking soda. The soda is supposed to make them less gassy. I'll keep you posted on that one.
After a few minutes I added the water and brought it up to a boil.
There's a whole lot of foam at the beginning. Skim it off and discard it. Let the beans simmer for about 20 minutes or until they can be easily split.
Here's a perfectly cooked bean; the skin slides right off of it and it separates easily into two halves.
In order for the hummus to be "ethereally smooth," all the skins must be removed. I don't mind doing this (see my post on Falafel) but cooked beans are a lot softer so removing the skins is more tedious; instead of popping off, there is a sort of squish and a slide. It was much easier to put them into a bowl of water and rub at them while periodically draining off the skins and running fresh water over them.
And there they are!
I put the beans into the food processor and let it go for a minute. I did stop once to scrape down the sides.
When the beans formed "powdery clumps", I added the salt, tahini, lemon juice and garlic.
I processed until it was fairly smooth.
Then added some water, a tablespoon at a time.
It looks pretty promising!
I scraped the hummus into a bowl and tasted it. I added some additional salt and an extra squeeze of lemon. Something was missing though. It took me a minute to realize what it was--cumin! The recipe didn't call for it, but I do. I added a generous teaspoon. Much better! The mixture was smooth and creamy. I decided to let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so the flavors would meld.
I took a look at it this morning. It was very thick and more of a paste than a cream. I added a little more water to thin it out. Though the water helped, the mouth feel wasn't quite right to me. I added some mild olive oil and that really helped.
Verdict from the guys and D--the taste is very good, especially on pita crackers. D mentioned that the initial texture is very smooth but there is a bit of grit at the end. I agree.
I don't think the recipe asked for enough liquid during the processing and I think flavoring with just the lemon, tahini and salt were not quite enough. The cumin added a lot to it. I had to doctor it quite a bit so a turtle score of three on this one.
Here's the promised link!
Ethereally Smooth Hummus
Today's cast!
Once the skins began to loosen, I drained the water and put the beans into a pot on the stove. Over medium heat, I sautéed them with some baking soda. The soda is supposed to make them less gassy. I'll keep you posted on that one.
After a few minutes I added the water and brought it up to a boil.
There's a whole lot of foam at the beginning. Skim it off and discard it. Let the beans simmer for about 20 minutes or until they can be easily split.
Here's a perfectly cooked bean; the skin slides right off of it and it separates easily into two halves.
In order for the hummus to be "ethereally smooth," all the skins must be removed. I don't mind doing this (see my post on Falafel) but cooked beans are a lot softer so removing the skins is more tedious; instead of popping off, there is a sort of squish and a slide. It was much easier to put them into a bowl of water and rub at them while periodically draining off the skins and running fresh water over them.
And there they are!
I put the beans into the food processor and let it go for a minute. I did stop once to scrape down the sides.
When the beans formed "powdery clumps", I added the salt, tahini, lemon juice and garlic.
I processed until it was fairly smooth.
Then added some water, a tablespoon at a time.
It looks pretty promising!
I scraped the hummus into a bowl and tasted it. I added some additional salt and an extra squeeze of lemon. Something was missing though. It took me a minute to realize what it was--cumin! The recipe didn't call for it, but I do. I added a generous teaspoon. Much better! The mixture was smooth and creamy. I decided to let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so the flavors would meld.
I took a look at it this morning. It was very thick and more of a paste than a cream. I added a little more water to thin it out. Though the water helped, the mouth feel wasn't quite right to me. I added some mild olive oil and that really helped.
Verdict from the guys and D--the taste is very good, especially on pita crackers. D mentioned that the initial texture is very smooth but there is a bit of grit at the end. I agree.
I don't think the recipe asked for enough liquid during the processing and I think flavoring with just the lemon, tahini and salt were not quite enough. The cumin added a lot to it. I had to doctor it quite a bit so a turtle score of three on this one.
Here's the promised link!
Ethereally Smooth Hummus
I love hummus and I’m with you. I always add cumin and olive oil. Two other essential additions for me are lemon zest And a dash or two of hot sauce That probably takes it too far away from its original taste, but those additions are yummy to me!!
ReplyDeleteLemon zest makes perfect sense--I was reading an Israeli recipe that adds preserved lemons! Hot sauce sounds good, too, though!
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