The struggle has been real for great homemade hummus in the Vegan Duck Soup house. You too? I think I tried about 10 recipes before I got my hummus game face on and did some research. I wanted smooth creamy hummus, not gritty lumpy gross hummus. For a while I thought it was just my blender and although upgrading to a high powered blender did help quite a bit, the hummus I was making was still off.
I had to figure out how the hummus gods did it. Surly they knew something that I didn’t, right? Well, turns out there was something I didn’t know. I came across this article by Bon Appetit that gave me the missing ingredient to my hummus woes. Baking soda! Baking soda is used to break down the skins of chickpeas, which apparently is the culprit of gritty grainy hummus. I guess we totally can get creamy hummus at home with out spending 5 bucks on a tiny little tub that we will eat entirely at 10 pm with a whole box of crackers. Oh you don’t do that too? Never mind…
I had been so close to great hummus a few times but this time was by far the BEST hummus I’ve ever had. I had mine with rice crackers and extra virgin olive oil. What do you like to dip in hummus? More importantly, what’s your favorite hummus flavor? I personally love olive tapenade, it may have to be next on my hummus to-make list. Of course, you can use this recipe for any flavor of hummus you want! Just switch out the artichokes for roasted peppers, chili oil, roasted garlic, etc. The hummus possibilities are endless!
- 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight*
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup chickpea cooking water reserved
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz jarred or canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp tahini
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Paprika
- Pita bread
- Crackers
- Veggies for dipping
- In a pot, add the soaked chickpeas and baking soda. Fill with water about 4 inches above the chickpeas.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer for half an hour or until slightly overcooked.
- Reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid before straining the cooked chickpeas.
- Strain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water while rubbing them in between your hands to remove the skins. Keep rinsing until the majority of the skins are gone.
- Add the cooking liquid, the chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients (except the artichoke hearts!) to a high powered blender or food processor.
- Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides in between.
- Stir in the chopped artichokes and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (optional).
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