Okay, okay
The fastest possible hummus, technically, would be to stick an immersion blender directly in a can of chickpeas. That wouldn’t taste good, though. This recipe is great—much better than store-bought hummus—and still fast enough to fit in over your lunch break.
Ingredients:
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 C. sesame seeds
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- Olive oil
- Salt
Ingredient note: olive oil
Good olive oil is essential to good hummus. Costco’s extra virgin jug works just fine. Taste before using; it should be bright and fruity, not dark and bitter.
Ingredient note: sesame seeds
Don’t buy your sesame seeds in a McCormick shaker, that’s too expensive. You can buy them in bulk online and store them in the freezer.
The first three steps happen in parallel:
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a saucepan, cover them with water, add the baking soda, stir briefly, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds (completely dry) over medium heat in a stainless steel skillet. Give them a good toss every minute or two. They won’t toast evenly; that’s okay. They can be done at any time, but I like to see half of them well-browned before I turn off the heat. This takes about ten minutes.
- Meanwhile, juice the lemon. Add the juice to a small or medium blender cup with the garlic clove. Blend well.
- When the sesame seeds are toasted to your liking, add them to the blender. Add 1/4 cup of water, as needed, to cover the blades. Blend until smooth, pausing as needed to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- Add a few big pinches of salt to the blender and blend briefly. Taste for seasoning. If it’s bland, add more salt.
- When the chickpeas are done, strain and rinse them briefly with hot water. Add them to the blender with a few tablespoons of olive oil.
- Blend until smooth. If the mixture gets trapped over a bubble of hot air, stop the blender and use a spatula to release the air, then add another splash of olive oil. When the hummus is as smooth as you want, it’s done.
Serve hot or cold; it’ll keep in the fridge for a couple days. If desired, top with za’atar and/or a splash of olive oil.