From Words to Wok is an online community of cookbook and food memoir enthusiasts founded by my friend Prachi Grover in Dubai. Members are people who have a huge collection of cookbooks and don’t know how to stop adding more to our book shelves. Since we don’t have any intentions of controlling this habit we decided to do the next best thing: become a part of this group where we can legitimize this kind of behaviour. For December, the cookbook of choice is Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking by Michael Solomonov.
Scratch hummus and homemade pita chips |
Rehydrating dried chickpeas. |
Photo Credit: Michael Solomonov's varied hummus recipes in Zahav. |
Zahav's Hummus Tehina (adapted from Michael Solomonov's Zahav)
Makes 3 cups
1 cup dried chickpeas
2 tsp. baking soda, divided
1-1/4 cups tehina (store-bought tehina can have its oil and paste separate-- stir very well to blend-- I used Alkanatar brand)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (to taste)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin (to taste)
2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin (to taste)
water to aid in blending
EVOO, chopped parsley and paprika for serving (optional)
EVOO, chopped parsley and paprika for serving (optional)
TIP: Serve leftover hummus a little warm or in room temperature for best taste.
In a bowl, cover chickpeas by at least two inches of cold water. Add one tsp. baking soda and let soak at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse.
In a medium pot, cover soaked chickpeas by at least four inches of water. Add the remaining one tsp. baking soda and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high and let cook at a vigorous simmer until chickpeas are quite soft, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. (Overcooked chickpeas are the secret to creamy hummus, so don’t worry if they start to break down a little.) Drain.
Dried chickpeas double in volume soaked in water overnight. |
I didn't have parsley for garnish so I used on-hand sliced green onions. |
Overcook the chickpeas until they're just shy of mush. |
Add the warm, drained chickpeas to blender with tehina; blend for a minute then add garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and cumin. Blend until perfectly smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally about two minutes; keep pureeing until the mixture is creamy and even fluffy, adding a little water if you need it to make the contents of the blender move. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt, lemon juice and/or cumin as needed.
Stir store-bought tehina very well to blend oil and sesame paste that separated. |
Warm, smooth and ultra-creamy! |
To serve, spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, dust with paprika, top with parsley (or green onions in my case) and drizzle generously with EVOO.
To make your own toasted pita chips: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut each pita bread in quarters and each quarter in half to make 8 triangles. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes, until crisp, turning once. Optional: sprinkle with paprika.
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