Improved (Israeli influenced) Hummus

Yeah we have opinions.

Ref:

• Smitten Kitchen's writeup of her own and some of Ottolenghi's technique
• 5 Secrets to Perfect Hummus, from Babushka Table/Delicious Istanbul
• Food52 / Yotam Ottolenghi / Sami Tamimi's technique
• Food52 / Zahav's Hummus Recipe

Small Recipe version: Requires:

• Tahina Sauce (Zahav - included here)
• Cooked Chickpeas or Chana Dal (which we prefer) (generic instructions included here)
• Actual Hummus recipe (Zahav - included here)
• Equipment: Food Processor or Blender (if you're making everything at once, may as well just use the Food Processor)

Half Basic Tehina Sauce Recipe (Zahav) Makes 2 cups Ingredients:

• 1/2 head or 2 to 3 large cloves of garlic (unpeeled but broken up - we will strain later)
• 6 Tbsp lemon juice (sometimes we use meyer lemon juice, which is milder)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 generous cup tehina (tahini)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

Method:

1. Put the garlic, the lemon juice, and 1/3 of the salt in the blender or food processor and blend to a coarse puree. Let stand for 10 minutes so lemon juice can mellow the garlic.
2. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing solids to release as much of the fluid as possible. Discard solids. Return juice to working bowl of food processor, add tehina and rest of the salt.
3. Pulse the food processor with a few tablespoons of ice water at a time. You will use a total of 3/4 cups of ice water, and as you go, the mixture will tighten up and then loosen and lighten in color. By the end of it, the sauce will be smooth and creamy.
4. If you're not going to use it right away, loosen the sauce a bit more with a few more tablespoons of ice water. Refrigerate for a week, or freeze for up to a month.

Cooked Chana Dal Ingredients:

References: