Smooth hummus topped with chilli oil

Smooth hummus topped with chilli oil

hummus-with-chilli-oil-top-down

I recently realised that my blog must be the only vegan food blog in the world without a basic hummus recipe! Can you believe it? I hang my head in shame and dash off to peel my chickpeas…’WHAT?’ I hear you cry…’you PEEL chickpeas, you crazy woman?’ Yup, I’m afraid I do… 🙂

In my defence though, it doesn’t even take that long. It took me only 20 minutes to peel the chickpeas for this recipe. Plus, it’s actually quite therapeutic. I put nice music on and sit there peeling my chickpeas and talking to my cat…Is that strange?! The reason I peel them is because peeled chickpeas make a waaaayy nicer and smoother hummus! It’s really worth it, trust me.

Some hummus gurus advocate adding a teaspoon of baking soda to the cooking of the chickpeas to soften them (and make them cook faster). As I am not overly keen on increasing my baking soda intake on such a regular basis (yes, I eat a lot of hummus) I don’t actually do that.

Instead, I am a fan of using ice-cold chickpea cooking water (also known as aquafaba) to give my hummus “baby bottom smooth” consistency. It appeals to my food thrifter instinct and makes my palate happy without any need for lugs of olive oil.

peeled-chickpeas-for-hummus

hummus topped with chilli oil

hummus topped with chilli oil in a bowl

serves
4-6
PREP
35 min
COOKING
75 min
serves
4-6
PREPARATION
35 min
COOKING
75 min
INGREDIENTS

HUMMUS

  • 250 g / a little over 1¼ cup of dry chickpeas (3 cups cooked), soaked overnight
  • 4 tbsp / ¼ cup lemon juice
  • approx. 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 1/3 cup tahini, hulled
  • appox. ¼ cup / 60 ml fridge-cold water

CHILLI OIL

  • ½ cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
  • 2-3 tbsp hot chilli flakes
  • ¼ tsp salt (optional)
METHOD
  1. Rinse your chickpeas after an overnight soak and put them into a large pot with plenty of fresh water. Bring them to the boil and simmer for about 75-90 minutes, until very tender and almost falling apart.
  2. To make chilli oil, bring ½ cup of olive oil to 160° C / 320° F – the oil will ripple and if you throw a couple of chilli flakes into it, they should sizzle gently (not aggressively as this will make chilli flakes burn). Take it off the heat. Stir chilli flakes and salt (if using) into the hot oil. Set aside to cool down before using.
  3. Once cooked, fish the chickpeas out of the pot with a slotted spoon and rinse them under a stream of cold water to help loosen the skin.
  4. If peeling the chickpeas, simply rub them between your hands and then slip the skin off gently with your fingers. I’ll be honest, I no longer bother with that as it’s just too time consuming.
  5. Place chickpeas in a food processor or an upright blender. If have a food processor with a sharp blade, it will yield good enough result. Otherwise use a blender and a tamper – which will be needed to get the mixture moving.
  6. If using a food processor, add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and most of the salt. Process while slowly trickling in chickpea cooking water (about ½ cup / 120 ml) until you achieve a creamy consistency you like.
  7. If using a blender, add ½ cup / 120 ml of chickpea cooking water, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, most of the salt and half of the chickpeas to the bottom of the blender. Blend until smooth, then add remaining chickpeas and blend some more whilst trickling in cold water through the opening in the lid. Use a tamper or stop and use a spatula to move the mixture around if it gets stuck.
  8. Serve with a drizzle of chilli oil, toasted bread or pita bread, olives, pickles and anything that takes your fancy. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, it keeps for about 3-4 days.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
362
18%
sugars
3 g
3%
fats
30 g
42%
saturates
4 g
20%
proteins
8 g
16%
carbs
20 g
8%
*per serving
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5.0
3 reviews, 20 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Lydia:
Hello! Quick question - if using cooked chickpeas from a can do you need to soak them overnight still? Or just drain and rinse and use straight away? Thanks! :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    No need to soak canned chickpeas. You are correct, just drain (I tend to reserve some of that liquid and add to the hummus actually) and use as is. Hope this helps! x Ania
Ann:
This reminds me of two Nigerian dishes called Akara and moi moi. Only, we soak the beans and then take the skins off, then blend. Then we either fry or steam depending. It's quite delicious. It's a good vegetarian dish. For the moi moi I add local vegetable leaf for added nutrients.
I must try this hummus recipe. I have never actually tried hummus but it looks delicious and easy to do. I have a Lachi bean peeler, which separates the bean skins from the beans, so wondering if it would do the cooked beans too? Hmmm.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks for your comment, Ann. I'm intrigued by those Nigerian dishes you mention, I shall do a deep dive to find out more. They sound delicious. Yes, hummus is very straightforward to make and a crowd pleaser so certainly worth trying to make your own. I'll be honest with you, I rarely peel my chickpeas these days but it's still delicious. Some people add a touch (1/2 tsp) of baking soda when cooking chickpeas as that softens their skins. Hope you'll enjoy it. Ania
Lisa:
I have a tip for you, that you may be thrilled to have! Chickpeas are available, at Indian grocers, that have been split and the skin already removed😁
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Lisa! Great tip! I did actually buy these once when we lived in Greece, but there were pretty dry and the hummus did not come out that nicely, maybe it was a bad batch. I will keep an eye out for them again. x Ania
Nirali:
Amazing recipe! I've tried to make hummus so many times, but it's never been this smooth! Thanks for the tips on getting the blender going.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Nirali,
    I am soooo pleased to hear that my recipe has been helpful! It took me a while to stop moaning about my rubbish blender, but now that I've come up with these hacks I don't mind it anymore :) x Ania
Jessen:
What brand of tahini do you use for this recipe?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Jessen,
    I use a local, Greek brand, the name of which I cannot recall at the moment :( ,but any decent (100% sesame seeds, no additives) brand will work just fine. Ania
Anna:
Yes sure! Hello to Paros where i have been years ago with my husband, plenty of the nicest memories. Bye Bye
Anna:
OMG now that (Thank to you) I discover the Aqua faba I am so excited to try new recipes. I just have Made a cappuccino an expresso and a "marocchino" (Cocoa powder on top) with a light weepped ( unsalted) aquafaba with sugar. Good as the real ones and good for me because i do not eat even oils, butter and so on. thnks Anna
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yay, that's fabulous!! And what a great idea! Aquafaba is magical, I know, I still cannot believe how well it works even though I've used it countless times! Working on a new sweet recipe with aquafaba, by the way - but pst...do't tell anyone ;) x
Anna:
You are right, now i must do it again my family loved it so much. I am busy too and i try to speed the procedure when it is possible in every recipes. I am glad you perform kind of kitchen i like . Bye Bye from Venice.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you so much, Anna! Your comment made my day! Venice, how lovely! Wish I could pop over for a quick city break :). x
Anna:
Hi lazycat! Thanks for this recipe , did work beautifully with the aquafaba that i never used before. I have peeled the chickpeas as you suggested, it is easy and fast, just rubbing the chickpeas by hands in their water (i took first the aquafaba). The peel float and very easy to remove. Thanks again it was smooth and delicious. Anna
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Anna! So pleased to hear that you liked it! Yay! Now, you will not be able to stop yourself from peeling chickpeas every time, I do it even if I'm super busy - smooth hummus is a must! :) x
Johanne Rosenthal:
Firstly I must come clean and admit that I didn't peel the chick peas. I set out to but half way through I called it a day. Like polishing the silverware my hands won't agree to follow what my mind commands.
That being said the recipe was lighter than any hummus I have made before and the lemon and garlic danced on the palate . I even served it with a curried lentil stew and found that a dollop of hummus stirred into the stew made the whole concoction silky smooth and the heat of the stew bloomed the garlic in an addictive way. I follow along with Aquafaba Hits and Misses and I was happy to see the substitution of aquafaba for oil.
Thank you as always for the time and care you put into your recipes.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you for kind words, Johanne! 'Ha ha' about your hands refusing to peel the chickpeas. It is a bit of a chore, I get that. I tend to do mine in front of TV and I even managed to rope my boyfriend into helping me with the task ;) . Glad to hear that hummus was a success though and THANK YOU for reading my recipes and musings! x
Bethany:
I love hummus! This looks super good!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Bethany! Hope you'll try it out! :)
Darria:
Heya! Thanks for the great recipe! I only have this question: how do I measure 250g of dry chickpeas without a scale?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hey Darria,
    I've just measured it for you and 250g is a little over 1 and ¼ cup of dried chickpeas.
    Hope that helps!
    Ania
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