Hummus Mashaushe
- Servings: Makes 3 cups.
This recipe is adapted from one that appeared a Saveur magazine article about the cuisine in the Galilee, an area north of Tel Aviv. Known as Israel's breadbasket, this region is rich in history, both biblical and culinary, and its foods have been influenced by Arabs, Druze, and Bedouins, as well as Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In this version of hummus, the mashed chickpeas are spiced with cumin and chiles and finished with a scattering of whole chickpeas and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in about 4 cups of water -- enough to cover the peas by about 3 inches; this will make about 3 cups of resuscitated chickpeas
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 small red Thai chile or 1 medium jalapeño, stemmed and seeded
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste for sprinkling
Directions
- Drain the chickpeas. Bring them and 4 cups water to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until chickpeas are very tender, 1 to 2 hours.
- Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid; cool to room temperature.
- In a food processor add the garlic and chile pepper and process until very finely minced (by processing the garlic and chile first it will combine better with the other ingredients). Add all but 3/4 cup of the chickpeas plus the tahini, oil, lemon juice, cumin, and salt. Purée until smooth. It will be thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning, especially the salt and lemon juice.
- Add the reserved cooking liquid and continue to purée until it gets an airy consistency, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish.
- Top the hummus with the remaining whole chickpeas and drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Alternative: you can make this recipe using 2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas that you've drained and rinsed. Then begin the recipe at step 3, using water in place of the cooking liquid.
