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I have no clue how most people go to their local supermarket, grab a box of industrial hummus and claim it’s wonderful.  In the middle east, we take it to a different level. Although, hummus goes back to the twelve century, it’s origins are still unknown (not to mention provide a good 2 hours debate among any 2 Middle-easterns).

if you ask any Israeli where is the best hummus located, you will probably get a long & diverse list. In the Middle-east  people take their hummus seriously. We all agree that the Arabs turned the hummus into an art and they make the best hummus around yet to be found. However the only question is, which one is considered ‘the best’.

I personally had a little spot in Tel Aviv called “humus Ashkara” to which I was more loyal then to my favorite sports team. I would defend it, praise it, speak of it’s amusing waiters that spin around you while they take your order (not to mention the fact that there is no menu) …..here I go again…. you see, I  caught myself  blathering. my point was that me and my friends all agreed that this is OUR spot and it has the most wonderful, creamy, hummus in the country.

2 years down the road, I came back to my annual visit in Israel. I was so excited to be back that I asked my parents that came to pick me up at the airport to stop at my little hummus place on our way home. which made no sense what-so-ever since it was way off our road.  The next morning, I went to meet up with my best friend. and since we haven’t seen each other for that long he suggested to go for hummus(In the middle east, going to eat hummus is as social gathering as it is a culinary munch).  Now, being the hummus lover I am, I instantly replied “yes”. the voice on the other side of the phone said “there is a new hummus place that you have to try. it is way better then the old one we used to go to” as you can tell, I was not a happy camper.

I was shocked!. at first, I felt the insult as if someone told me that I have new parents to replace my old one ” hey, I have new parents here…would  you like to try them out? give it a spin trust me they are way better”.

“what do you mean a new place?!” I argued “who said anything about abandoning my old place ?”. my friend decided to change his tactics. He offered to go to the old place and only then try out the new one for me to decide which one of the two is better.

Although he did convince me to go and try his new place, I wasn’t very impressed. I guess your spot wether it be a pub, a beach or a restaurant, is a bit like our security blanket. There are tons of other better looking blankets out there; However, only one gives you that cosy feeling you love so much.

I decided to dive into the rabbit hole and see how far it goes when it comes for making the perfect hummus. I interviewed chefs , investigated, tested, tried, made a mess in my kitchen…in order to crack the code to the perfect hummus.

Here are a few interesting things about this heavenly paste of chickpeas and tahini:

1) Gold Rush – it is true that not all chickpeas were born equal. whenever I make hummus I always think of those gold rushers with a strainer next to the river. each one of them was looking carefully trough the rocks to see if there are any golden nuggets. The same goes for chickpeas, the quality of the peas have the potential to make your hummus amazing or just average. try to use the small specie since it tens to peel the skin when you boil it. in addition, if you see any ‘wrinkles’ on your peas, use them for something else like soups. As a rule of thumb, the smaller the chickpeas are their taste will tend to be sweeter with better texture, while the larger chickpeas tend to crumble and tend to have a powderish texture. since the larger chickpeas tend to peel their thick peel, the final texture will be thicker.

2) Rinse- it is crucial to wash the chickpeas once before soaking them and at least once while soaking them for 1/2 a day. if you never drink your tap water since the water have a funny taste, try to soak the chickpeas with filtered water.

3) Add Tahini – Tahini makes your hummus thicker which gives it a nice body and a wonderful flavor, dont be shy to add an extra spoon.

4) Bring your friends- eating hummus with your friends makes the whole difference. it just taste better when you eat with your buddies.

Incredible hummus recipe :

1. 1/3 a cup of olive oil (try to get olive oil that is not from italy or spain since those species are too fine and loose most of their flavor in the refining process  )

2. 4-8 cloves of garlic (according to taste)

3. 2 cups of chickpeas

4. 3 spoons of tahini ( organic if possible)

5. Lemon juice from 2 small lemons

6. Cumin

7. za’atar

8. baking soda (pinch)

9. salt

to garnish :

1) Paprika

2) Za’atar

3) Chopped coriander

4) Olive oil

5) Pine nuts

6) Optional – stir fried mushrooms in olive oil

Steps of making :

1)  Rinse the dried chickpeas with water and soak them for 24 hours (note- change the water during that time at least once)

2) Boil the chickpeas in water for approximately one hour (the usual boiling time is around 3 hours but you can add a tiny pinch of baking soda to shorten time without compromising on the taste)

3) Chop the garlic cloves and fry them with 1/3 cup of olive oil till they turn golden. We do that to give the oil the right flavor.

4) Once the chickpeas are soft enough that you can smooch then with your fingers, strain the chickpeas and add them into a food processor with the oil and fried garlic.

5) Add the tahini, 1/2 a tea spoon of cumin, lemon juice and salt and blend them together. to get the right texture add more salt or balance with more tahini.

6) Place the desired serving amount in a wide edged bowl and create a circular ‘ditch’ using the bottom of a metal spoon.

7)  Garnish with paprika za’atar and pine nuts and add the olive oil to the ‘ditch’ you created earlier.

8)Eat it with a warm fluffy pita.