I have promised my hummus recipe to people many times. And never delivered. Not because I don’t want to share it, but just because I don’t HAVE a recipe. I know what goes in it, but not how much. I just throw stuff in and then stick my finger in it and taste it. If it needs more of something, I add it, and then I go through this process about twelve times. The main problem is that I only use dry garbanzo beans, and I just toss some in the crock pot. So I don’t know how many I put in the first place, and I sure don’t know how it compares to the canned beans most people use. So today I just started with an entire pound of dry garbanzo beans and paid attention to how much of everything else I put in.

I think starting with dry bean is key. Canned beans are not fully cooked, and so make for grainy hummus. I soak the beans at least overnight, and then cook them on low in the crock-pot for at least four hours, until they are so soft they are falling apart. I highly recommend this if you have the time. I’m not sure how to make hummus without a crock-pot and a food processor. I made it in a blender once, but I had to make it pretty runny in order for it to blend properly. You can see that even now this recipe is “to taste” and I put ranges of some of the ingredients. You’ll just have to stick your finger in it and taste it too!

Note: This is smooth hummus, but not the super-smooth creamy type like Sabra hummus. I honestly don’t think you can get that consistancy at home. My guess is that they add a lot of oil and process it in a way that removes the bean skins.

Process the garlic in the food processor until finely minced (they incorporate much better if you mince them before adding anything else). Add all other ingredients, starting with the lower amount given (i.e. juice of 2 lemons). Process until very smooth, adding some cooking water to make it the desired consistancy. I ended up adding about 1/2 cup this time. Taste, and add more lemon juice, salt, or tahina if it’s still bland. It should be tangy and bright tasting, not beany. Hummus is traditionally served with olive oil drizzled over the top. You can certainly omit this on strict fast days.

There you go. That’s as close to a recipe as I can get :) Our favorite thing to eat this with is pita chips — brush a split pita with plenty of olive oil on both sides, sprinkle with kosher salt and bake at 400 degrees until crispy. Break into small pieces.