The Secret To Smooth and Creamy Hummus (2024)

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Discover the secret to making smooth and creamy restaurant-quality hummus at home in just 5 minutes, using only basic pantry ingredients!

Chickpeas are great!

Chickpeas are so versatile, aren't they? As well as being fantastic for hummus and falafel, or as an ingredient in burgers, they're so good when smashed and mixed with some veganaise* and a bit of ketchup in a sandwich. Chickpeas are especially good in casserole-type dishes, such as in shakshuka.

*Made using aquafaba from chickpeas, or other beans!

The key to smooth and creamy hummus

For me, a good hummus has to be smooth and creamy, with a balance of smoky tahini, lemon juice, and salt. It doesn't need to have oil added to it, except a little on top, to be mixed in - or not - as desired. But it does have to be excellent extra virgin olive oil.

I'm not a fan of coarse hummus, and very often I find that when commercially-produced, it is bland and lacking in tahini. And that is the key - tahini! This sesame seed paste is everything, so don't be skimping on it. 😉

Great hummus needs a decent amount of tahini. Not just a tablespoon or two but lots. It's the difference between cheap supermarket hummus and the really, really good stuff you get in Levantine eateries, both at home and overseas.

Do you need to remove chickpea skins to make smooth hummus?

Some people advocate removing the skins of chickpeas in order to make silky smooth hummus, and while it's easy to do**, it's really not necessary unless you're going to be making hummus by hand.

(**Just agitate the cooked chickpeas in a bowl of cold water for a bit, and leave to settle, the skins will float to the top.)

If you're using a blender or food processor, it makes no difference whether you leave the skins on or remove them. Most tinned chickpeas have already been skinned though, and to be perfectly honest, for hummus, I do prefer to use tinned rather than cooking dried ones because it's so much quicker, and I don't have to plan ahead.

Making hummus at home

Making hummus at home is stupidly simple. Even if you don't have a blender or food processor, it's easy to make by hand - after all, this is how it's traditionally done.

When we lived in Taroudant, I didn't have any kitchen appliances, other than a cooker and a fridge, so I made hummus in the dish of my tagine, which is basically a mortar, and used the bottom of a tea glass as a pestle! This method does however, take a bit of time to get the hummus really smooth.

If you do have a blender or food processor, it can be made in just a few minutes. Just place all the ingredients into the jug (or bowl), and blend until smooth. My Froothie VAC2 blender is brilliant for this!

Does it need garlic?

I don't always use garlic because I don't feel it needs it, TBH. Traditional hummus doesn't always contain garlic, so if I do add it, it's as a flavouring in its own right. Roasted garlic works really well, as it too is rich and creamy, with a deep, almost smoky, flavour.

How to remove the heat from garlic

When I do use raw garlic, I smash up a clove, and soak it in the lemon juice for 30 minutes before making the hummus. Why? Because the acid in the lemon juice removes the hot bitterness, leaving behind nothing but the sweet garlicky flavour. The whole lot can then be added to the blender with the other ingredients.

📖 Recipe