I find it hard to resist a bargain (the avocado doesn’t fall far from the tree), so when I saw these enormous cans of chickpeas on sale at Harkola a few months ago, I had to buy one. From memory, we paid a tiny $3.50 for this 3.2kg can!
Of course, actually opening a can this size is quite a commitment, so it sat in our pantry for quite a while. I finally opened it on the weekend, to find large, tender chick peas of great quality. I froze four portions in ziplock bags for future soups and stews, left some in the fridge for more immediate use, and turned the rest into hommus.
The recipe I now use for hommus was inspired by an episode of Barry Vera’s Feast Bazaar. It’s a very light and low fat dip, as opposed to most commercial versions on the market today. That’s because the puree is loosened with hot water rather than oil, resulting in a silky, almost fluffy paste. I didn’t measure the quantities for this, as we adjust the recipe each time for taste and texture.
Rinse and drain the chick peas, then load them into the bowl of a large food processor with a clove or two of coarsely chopped garlic. Turn the machine on, then add hot or boiling water slowly through the chute until the mixture blends to an almost smooth paste (photo below).
Now add a few tablespoons of tahini paste (we prefer the Lebanese version), the juice of one or two lemons, a little extra virgin olive oil, and salt to taste, then blend again until well combined. The original version didn’t add olive oil, but we quite like the flavour, so we add just a little bit to ours. Do keep tasting as you go, adjusting seasoning and ingredients to your own personal preference.
This recipe works well with tinned chickpeas, but absolutely brilliantly with dried ones that have been soaked overnight and boiled for a couple of hours. The latter will produce a very smooth and silky hommus, as the freshly cooked chickpeas are softer and blend more readily than their canned counterparts.
The original Barry Vera recipe recommended serving the hommus spread thickly onto a plate and topped with slices of pan-fried, sumac-coated lamb fillet. We usually just eat it with sourdough baguettes!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Delicious. Now, where are my corn chips hiding?
i am a big fan of hommus! it is so easy and tasty like you describe in this post. i posted a version in my blog made with white beans which is also great. thanks for sharing!
I also like chickpeas on salad with cilantro dressing and also in soup.
The hummus looks amazing!
M
MMmm! chickpeas or garbanzo beans- I don’t care what you call them- they are good in all their incarnations!
Falafel!
Hummus!
Salads!
Soups!
I always like olive oil in mine, too.
oh ah. I am picturing sitting down with one of your cottage loaves and dipping it into this hommus. Simple and delicious I bet!
I love chickpeas too! And do something very similar with the hummous as we call it, using water like you instead of all that oil, though I do usually add a little oil towards the end. We eat it with Dan the Man’s perfect pitta bread or in sandwiches or on felaffel. Do you use gram flour ever? I never seem to quite get through the bag, but I use it sometimes to make bhaji.
Thank you all – now I need one of my dear blogging friends to teach me how to make falafel, because I absolutely love it, but have never made it at home! :)
Aleida, I’ll check our your white bean version – thanks!
Jo, I’ve never made bhaji, but I have two bags of besan flour (chickpea flour) in the fridge, both bought with the intention of making bhaji.. :)
Jules at Stonesoup did a post on delafels an hommus yesterday :-)
http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2010/08/how-to-make-hummus-falafels-like-a-pro-5-ingredients/
John, cool, thanks for the pointer, I’ll have a look!
Harkola, I will be forever thankful to you for giving me that name Celia. Got a bag of flour for $10 the other day :-)
Now Monkey Boy would be all over that bowl of hommus- he could swim in it he loves it so much. Will happily eat a whole capsicum dipping it in.
Felafels I grew up eating, mum was always making them, but I’ve never tried to. I think after eating so many as a kid, the novelty wore off…
Brydie, isn’t it just the best place? We’ve recently picked up fava beans there, plan to try making hommus et ful next…
Is their bread flour now $10/bag? Wow, that really IS cheap!!
No, the guy behind the counter was feeling generous and giving everyone discounts apparently. Happy to oblige!
You’re never going to guess who had homemade hommus on toast for breakfast this morning…oh, you’ve guessed, haven’t you?
Love the good old chickpea. Very brave of you to commit to the whole tin! I would have gotten a few as well.
To make felafals, it’s basically chickpeas and spices processed together, rolled in ball then fried. Not hard at all. Give them a try, if you muck it up, there are plenty more chickpeas where they came from! Good luck!
Lee, you and me both! :)
Chef, thank you for understanding. It was a job just getting the tin open – my can opener didn’t know what to do with such a thick rim! But at $3.50 for 3.2kg, it was hard to resist!
Thanks for the felafal recipe. I’m going to give it a go – I adore them, but finding a good one is often hard work!
I needed to see this post..since I am on a roll of trying to use up the odds and sods in the pantry. I have had the chickpeas and Tahini sitting in the cupboard for a couple of months now with the intention of making Hommus and just haven’t gotten around to it.
Thanks for the push and for sharing this recipe!
Hoummous is my stand-by, last minute visitor or picnic ’emergency’ snack food. I always have tins of chickpeas in the pantry….and a jar or two of that lovely lebanese tahini. I find the brand of tinned chickpeas makes a difference to flavour and texture and have worked out that some tinned lentils use strange additives that are “firming” agents and this affects the taste and how smooth you can process them. I usually only use lemon juice to mix mine as we like it quite lemony and also quite thick. I also add in a pinch of cumin powder and sprinkle on some paprika when serving it. My kids can eat big bowls of this…and it is so healthy when you make it yourself (no added mayonnaise or other things with lots of numbers).
I bought a big tin of beans (like you, a bargain too hard to walk past)…and mine has also been sitting in my pantry for far too long waiting for the “right” opportunity to tackle it! Perhaps a big bbq or party where I can make a huge salad with it…
Coriander is nice in a falafel mix. I had a recipe for a type of Indian falafel ball once which was made with some kind of lentil, I lost the recipe. These fried balls had coriander in them too and they were delicious. I’m not eating wheat or corn at the moment so I guess its vegetable sticks and houmous for me, any other ideas?
Frances, thanks for the coriander tip, I’ll try to remember that when I finally get around to attempting falafel. As for avoiding wheat and corn, have you had a look at the Intolerant Chef’s blog? It has some wonderful suggestions for wheat-free meals…(the link is in one of the comments above).
Hoummous is something of a staple in this house – so easy to whip up, so delicious that the kids love it and good for them too!
There is a Lebanese restaurant in Melbourne that does a wonderful version that is smothered in caramelised onions – I could live on that!
Amanda!! Caramelised onions on top of hommus!!! I reckon I could live on that too.. :)
you’re very brave, celia, i haven’t even seen cans that size around here!! (i think either my husband is shielding them with his body when we’re at the store, or my subconscious is actively trying to do us all a favor and is putting blind spots in all the right places).
our favorite kind has roasted red peppers, and sometimes i use cannellini beans instead of chickpeas. mayo is a huge no-no, although sometimes i feel something’s missing so i’ll add a tablespoon of sour cream. depends.
Dana, I really must try it with beans – I love bean purees of all types. Roasted red peppers sound like a delish addition – I did mix a little of Anna’s Pidment d’Espelette into some of the hommus – great match of flavours…
Hummus is one of my go-to snacks. I make it with olive oil though. Never thought of substituting with water. I eat it with veggies, crackers, pita chips, and often on its own.
You’re right. Store bought hummus is terrible. I’m known to ask friends who buy it, rather sarcastically, if they’ve forgotten how to use a blender. hehe
Sandy, it’s very interesting how different it is blended with a little hot water rather than oil. Much lighter and fluffier in texture. I watched a video of Yotam Ottolenghi making his version, and he uses the cooking liquid from boiling the chickpeas. It’s a great video:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2010/jun/29/ottolenghi-hummus-ful
I love hommus…a great recipe..always better with less fat, chick peas are one of my favourites!
Ooooo, a bucket of hummus.
Skewer some meat kebabs, finely shred some lemoned cabbage, grill some pitta and you’ve got one of my all time my favourite “snacks”.
Who needs burgers (although I like them too).
They use chickpeas a lot in Spain, that’s where I tried my first.
A perfectly delicious ingredient.
And well done on opening your tin. I’d have needed a lie down afterwards, Celia.
Yvette, thank you!
Gill, hehe, you’re not wrong. Once I’d opened the can, I couldn’t find a strainer big enough to drain them into…
I do love my home made hummus, but I’m not sure I’d be able to stretch to that gigantic tin though.
Haha…you can see why it sat in my pantry for months! :)
Not sure I would be brave enough to purchase such a large tin of chickpeas. I would probably dish out ziplock portions to family and friends saying something like “Surprise me with a new recipe”. I digress… I love your recipe for hummus – sounds so nice being lighter and low fat is always a help.
:-) Mandy
I didn’t know about being able to use water instead of oil – I do love hommus but have avoided it lately due to trying to lose a bit of weight. I’m going to make this so I can start eating it again.
I have the absolute best recipe for felafel ever – I think I’ve become a bit famous in my circle for these. It is a Belinda Jeffrey recipe from her Tried and True book if you have it – happy to email the recipe if you don’t. It has a great accompanying tahini sauce recipe too.
Mandy, thank you!
Sarah, I’d love that recipe – thank you!
I love hummus…..and I smiled at the large tin. We’re all the same…bargain hunters! I always take off the skin for a smoother paste and then gently roast it with a touch of olive oil, some sea salt and garlic. Then I puree it. I love the flavour that roasting gives it – smooth, lightly smoked and overall lovely! I follow your steps as soon as you’ve made some falafel
I love hommus, though last time I made way too much for just the two of us. A little chick pea goes a long way!! Still it was much cheaper than buying from the supermarket and definitely tastes heaps better!
Hehe oh how I relate to this Celia! I would have been tempted by such a can too! Isn’t hommous fab? It’s so healthy but so tasty! :D
Oz, that’s brilliant, I’ve never thought about roasting the chickpeas first..
Steph, Lorraine, thanks! I hope it’s healthy Lorraine, because like Steph, I made a little too much this time as well. :)
Yum yum, hummus is a wonderful food. I always use water too, although I do also use olive oil – probably half and half, although I always throw it together, so difficult to tell exactly.
We absolutely love hummus in our house. We make ours with the canned chick peas as well. I also add chick peas to my salad when I want a little vegetarian protein. They taste wonderful with white balsamic.
Choc, Cat, thank you! Cat, I must try them with white balsamic, I have some in the pantry. I must admit, I just like eating boiled chickpeas straight out of the tin! :)
yum ive always wanted to make my own hommous so thanks for sharing xx
You’re most welcome, Betty, thanks for stopping by! :)