There is no such thing as the "best" recipe for hummus. Hummus is a matter of individual preference for taste, texture, and appearance. "Best" is in the eye of the beholder.
Personally, I prefer mine over all others I've tasted, which is of course because I make it exactly the way I like it.
Hummus is amazing simple to make consisting of only a few ingredients.
I will share my method as a guide but it will be up to you to increase or decrease the amounts of the ingredients until you arrive at what satisfies you.
15-16 ounces of garbanzo beans, more often called “chick peas”. The easiest way is to use canned chick peas and reserve the drained liquid. Another way is to buy dried chick peas, soak them overnight, and cook them until tender.
3 Tablespoons of tahini, which is a thick paste of ground sesame seeds. Middle Eastern tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted sesame seeds. You could make this yourself but why? Middle Eastern groceries and many ordinary Super Market chains offer it in jars labeled Sesame Tahini and made by people who know how.
1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice. I prefer freshly squeezed but bottled concentrate works also.
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions :
Put all of it in a food processor or blender. I prefer a food processor because some blenders are not powerful enough and require redistributing the mixture while blending; a real annoyance.
Add some of the reserved liquid to just below the level of the chick peas.
Process to form a smooth thick paste. Add very small amounts of the reserved liquid as necessary but do this carefully to avoid it becoming too thin.
Spread it from the processor onto a shallow plate, not that silly bowl in the picture of this post. Remember, the point is to scoop it with thin pita bread and eat the hummus and the bread with the same bite. So, make sure you have enough room to scoop without your knuckles bumping into the sides of a bowl.
It is ready to eat now but you will probably enjoy it more if you chill it for an hour or so. Traditionally olive is drizzled over the top.
You can do several things at this point or nothing if you choose. Garnish the edge of the plate with parsley. Add a small mound of garbanzo beans in the center with a few leaves of parsley. Lightly sprinkling with paprika is also popular; I myself prefer simmaq or sumac. Some like a pomegranate seed garish.
Now, here is the deal. The amounts of everything are variable. Try it and then you decide. Do you want more or less lemon, more or less garlic, thinner or thicker, etc. The bread selected can make a huge difference.
Enjoy!
Now I’ve made myself hungry. I have some left that I made yesterday with pine nuts.
Your recipe sounds delicious. Alas, I’ll have to console myself with Trader Joe’s eggplant hummus. Two tablespoons is zero Weight Watchers Points. I eat it with red bell pepper strips instead of pita.