That silky texture of restaurant hummus comes from the chickpea skins being removed. Bicarbonate of soda in the cooking water loosens the skins and most of them float to the surface by themselves. Rub off the rest by hand; it is twenty minutes of work and the difference is enormous.
Ingredients
For the chickpeas
For the hummus
For the top
Method
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Cook the chickpeas
Throw away the soaking water and boil the chickpeas in fresh water with bicarbonate of soda for 50 minutes, until they crush between your fingers.
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Skin them
Drain, keeping half a cup of the cooking water, and put that in the fridge. Rub the chickpeas in cold water to loosen the skins and pour off the ones that float.
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Blend
Put the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and cumin into a processor.
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Add cold water
Add the ice cold cooking water a little at a time and blend for 4 minutes. Cold water both loosens and lightens the hummus.
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Rest
Chill for 30 minutes.
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Serve
Spread on a plate, make a well in the middle, pour in olive oil and scatter with pepper flakes and cumin.
Tips
- Do not skip removing the skins; the silky texture of hummus depends entirely on that step.
- Use the water ice cold; cold water lightens the tahini and makes the hummus fluffier.
- Do not blend for less than four minutes, as hummus blended briefly stays grainy.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.