Yummy Hummus

 

Israel is THE place to each GREAT Hummus, it is healthy and easy to make at home.  This is how I make it.



I sprout the chickpeas before I cook them. This is not mandatory, but I highly recommend it.
I found that if I start soaking the beans on Thursday morning, they are perfectly ready on Saturday morning.
To sprout, you start by soaking the beans overnight or over a day, then placing them in a colander, covered with a clean towel. Give them a quick rinse every morning and evening.
If you decide not to sprout, just soak them overnight.

Ingredients:

two cups dry chickpeas
one onion
2 celery sticks
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 cups good Tahini
1-2 lemon

1. Preparing the chickpeas

Soak the chickpeas overnight.
Sprout for two days.
Place in a large pot, add water until the pot is half full. Add one peeled whole onion, 2 celery sticks, salt and 1 tsp baking soda.
Cook until the beans are soft and tasty. During the cooking a lot of solid foam forms at the surface. You want to keep removing it with a large spoon. The peels of the chickpeas will also come off, and they coagulate with the foam, so it is easy to remove the peels as well during this time.
When the beans are ready, fill two cups with the cooking water and set aside. Strain the beans, discard the onion and celery sticks. Remove about half a cup for serving.

2. Making the Humus

I do half the amount at a time, so I repeat the process twice. I find it is easier for the blender, plus, if you didn't like the seasoning with the first half, you can change it for the second half.

Place half of the chickpeas in a blender jar.
Add 3/4 cup of the cooking water.
Add 3/4 cup tahini.
Add juice of one lemon and salt to taste
Blend until smooth
Transfer to a container.

You can play with the amount of lemon juice, salt, and cooking liquid to get the taste and consistency you prefer. Note that using 3/4 cups of the cooking water it is pretty liquidy, but it becomes much harder after a day in the fridge.

3. Serving:

Lay the humus on a plate, top with some of the chickpeas you set aside, and add a generous amount of olive oil.