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February 6, 2007 12:18 PM

Hummus recipe filter: What’s the most interesting (and delicious) hummus you’ve made? I’m tired of all my variations and in the mood for something new. Recipes that go beyond the usual add-ons (i.e. sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, jalapeno, bonnet peppers, etc.) are particularly welcome.
posted by special-k to Food & Drink (37 answers total)

Chocolate.
posted by notsnot at 12:23 PM on February 6, 2007

I always made mine with kalamata olives, lemon juice, and black pepper. The olives and the lemon juice have quite complementary flavors.
posted by vorfeed at 12:23 PM on February 6, 2007

Whoa. Was wondering this exact thing this morning....
posted by toastchee at 12:23 PM on February 6, 2007

Replace the chick peas with a different kind of bean. Cranberry beans are particularly tasty (and give the hummus a nice purplish color), but navy or great northern beans are good too.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:24 PM on February 6, 2007

this spinach hummus was incredible the first time i made it, though less so the second time. not terribly exciting, but still!
posted by soma lkzx at 12:26 PM on February 6, 2007

A local restaurant makes a black bean hummus that I've heard is pretty good.
posted by dilettante at 12:28 PM on February 6, 2007

You obviously know your way around a chick pea so instead of a recipe I'll just say try adding artichoke hearts....excellent! Very subtle and luscious.
posted by iconomy at 12:30 PM on February 6, 2007

I picked up a pack of wasabi hummus not so long ago. Sounds strange, tho' not as strange as chocolate, but it's darned good. A recipe here although I'm sure adding wasabi to your current recipe could work. The Moosewood Cookbook variation of adding a dash of tamari could work with this.
posted by i_cola at 12:34 PM on February 6, 2007

I've never made these, but frequent Hummus Bros a lot and the chicken one is amazing. Some ideas for you, maybe.
posted by meerkatty at 12:44 PM on February 6, 2007

Put the following in a small food processor and process it until very smooth, ~2 minutes:

- One can of store-bought chick peas, drained.
- Juice from 1 1/2 lemons. Only use fresh lemons.
- Garlic to taste. I like around three thumb-sized cloves.
- ~1 tsp of salt. Again, to taste.

After it is all smooth, put it in a bowl then stir in 1/3 of a cup of tahini. Be sure to hand-stir it in afterwards, don't add it to the processor.

Serve it with some good, proper, thin pita bread purchased from a local middle eastern store, not the fluffy, yeasty crap that most grocery stores pass off as pita (or pocket) bread. Or, serve with veggies if that's what you like. Some people also like to drizzle good olive oil over it before serving.

A photo of it, admittedly on my own site, is available here. It's a nice, simple hummus recipe which gets raves every time I make it.
posted by c0nsumer at 12:47 PM on February 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

roasted red peppers, and seconding the artichokes.
posted by wearyaswater at 12:48 PM on February 6, 2007

Are pine nuts considered "usual add-ons"? I've been eating a lot of hummus with roasted pine nuts lately, and I hadn't heard of that combo until recently, so apologies if it's already well-known. It's a great combo.
posted by amro at 12:53 PM on February 6, 2007

Some friends of mine made hummus once, and mistook the cinnamon in their cubboard for paprika. We laughed, and then we tried it, and it was actually pretty decent. Kind of a dessert hummus.
posted by LionIndex at 12:54 PM on February 6, 2007

I've been meaning to try a little cumin and curry powder in mine.
posted by vytae at 12:54 PM on February 6, 2007

I make really good black bean hummus. It's basically black beans, tahini, lime, cilantro, salt and pepper, and a bit of hot sauce. Delish.
posted by smich at 1:04 PM on February 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Often with hummus, I find straightforward is best (and so I avoid the different beans and variety of spices). YMMV of course but hummus has been my dish-to-pass standard for 20 years. Be sure to put enough lemon juice (yes, I agree with c0nsumer that fresh is better) and garlic in. Drizzle a little good olive oil over it before serving (some like a dash of paprika as well - I save the cumin for the babaganouj). One variation that always gets good reviews when I make it is to roast a sweet red pepper, and put about 3/4 in when food processing, then finely chop the rest and sprinkle over the top before serving.
posted by aught at 1:06 PM on February 6, 2007

Two suggestions:

(1) Substitute white cannellini beans (cooked) for the chick peas and roasted garlic for the garlic. Makes for a smoother and subtler tasting version of hummus.

(2) Vary the preparation technique of your basic recipe. Ever since a Palestinian friend of mine showed me the way his family makes it, my basic technique for preparing hummus has been:

- Boil canned chick peas until slightly soft (~10 minutes). drain and save some fo the water.

- In a bowl, mix chick peas, minced garlic, chopped parsley & tehini by hand with a fork or spoon, adding olive oil and some of the water to smoothen it a bit. Add lemon if you want (I don't).

- When serving, create a depression in the center and fill with additional olive oil.

This results in a much chunkier and, IMHO, much tastier hummus, with pieces of chick pea intact. Everyone I have served it to has loved it.
posted by googly at 1:20 PM on February 6, 2007

Besides the standard stuff (chick peas, olive oil, garlic, salt, tahini, water, cumin, paprika, lemon juice), I usually throw some cayenne pepper in mine. Give it a nice little kick that I've grown pretty hooked on now.
posted by chundo at 1:27 PM on February 6, 2007

have you tried green chick peas?
also, we cut our pita into triangles & toast lightly in the oven.
posted by aquanaut at 1:28 PM on February 6, 2007

I have added cilantro to standard hummus for a surprisingly delicious effect: its flavor melds very well.

Rip the leaves from the stems before putting them in; the stems add a bitterness that is unwanted.
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:28 PM on February 6, 2007

I have added cilantro to standard hummus for a surprisingly delicious effect: its flavor melds very well.

Seconded.

I remember back in elementary school I'd sometimes trade my lunch with this guy who got hummus sandwiches all the time that had loads of cilantro in 'em.
posted by juv3nal at 1:46 PM on February 6, 2007

I add lots of lemon, garlic and dill and omit tahini. Makes for an interesting flavor that isn't too rich or creamy (and thick/chunky enough to be a sandwich filling).
posted by necessitas at 1:47 PM on February 6, 2007

My girlfriend recently made an excellent hummus-like dip with edamame, tahini, lemon, salt and pepper (no garlic). Trader Joe's frozen edmame was perfect for this (get the shelled variety for better value and time efficiency)
posted by zachxman at 1:57 PM on February 6, 2007

Someone I know used to put Vegemite with Hummous on biscuits and Lebanese bread. I can't really vouch for it though, I've never been much of a fan of Hummous.
posted by cholly at 2:56 PM on February 6, 2007

I'd like to second c0nsumer's recommendation of starting from a good recipe. My own variant calls for olive oil blended into the hummus and a little less garlic (or roast the garlic before you add it).

If you want authenticity, you'll start with dried chick beas, soak them overnight, grind them by hand with a mortar and pestle with fresh tahini, olive oil, salt, loads of lemon juice and garlic, then serve with warm pita bread and pickles, olives, and fresh vegetables.
posted by onalark at 3:04 PM on February 6, 2007

Wasabi.
Or, a substantial portion of ground almonds.
posted by Zetetics at 4:26 PM on February 6, 2007

Meat.
posted by rxrfrx at 4:33 PM on February 6, 2007

If I can piggyback, when making homemade hummus, how long does it last? My husband won't eat it but these recipes are making me drool.
posted by sugarfish at 4:40 PM on February 6, 2007

Thirding the artichokes. Also, I like a little bit of coriander (the ground seed, not the leaf) in mine.

I've made it with frozen lima beans, after steaming them according to package directions. Your hummus will be an amazing color.

Sugarfish, I usually don't keep hummus in the fridge for more than three days or so, but you can freeze it. It will be a little grainy when you thaw it, but you can smash it with the back of a spoon and it's good to go.
posted by found dog one eye at 6:56 PM on February 6, 2007

I'm still eating a batch of hummus I made more than a week ago and kept in the fridge: it's fine.

I made this latest batch from dried chick peas but I do not think there is any real difference from the canned stuff, so long as you rinse well.

I think the secrets to good hummus are lots of lemon juice, lots of garlic, good salt, good olive juice and good tahini. Parsley is a good addition, as is cayenne pepper. Black olives go well too.
posted by unSane at 7:49 PM on February 6, 2007

No Bean Hummus

2 zucchini, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup raw tahini
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tbs ground cumin

Put everything a blend and crank it till you get "hummus".
posted by dobbs at 7:54 PM on February 6, 2007

That should say put everything in a blender...
posted by dobbs at 8:20 PM on February 6, 2007

As other's have suggested, a couple dashes of cumin for just a hint of a different flavor.

I also recommend, if you have the time and effort to spare, raw hummus. That is, hummus made with sprouted chickpeas. The flavor is totally different, fresh and delicious. Try it, it's fun.
posted by bobobox at 9:48 PM on February 6, 2007

The others' apostrophe was fun too.
posted by bobobox at 9:50 PM on February 6, 2007

The best hummus I ever had was made with roasted garlic cloves, roasted red onion and roasted red pepper as well as the standard chick peas, tahini, EV olive oil, black pepper and lemon juice.

Before serving I would liberally sprinkle naturally smoked paprika and a little cumin over the top, and I'm thinking for the next batch I'll be adding some dried chilli flakes.

Mouthwatering.
posted by whoojemaflip at 4:23 AM on February 7, 2007

Trader Joe's sells a horseradish hummus that's super tasty. I haven't made it, but I'll bet you could figure it out with a little experimentation.
posted by hsoltz at 7:03 AM on February 7, 2007

We always use peanut butter (creamy) in hummus instead of tahini. I always have it on hand, and it makes a richer hummus I find. We also prefer the cannelini beans to chick peas because they come out milder and creamier. For a fun twist, add some basil pesto paste to the mix.
posted by Kimberly at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2007