This recipe is inspired by my BFF, Beth. There we were, sitting in a bar one night enjoying a glass of wine or two. We were both starving, as usual, so checked out the menu which had a hummus platter. Sounded just right – and when it came to the table…I mean bar…it was drizzled with fruity olive oil and garnished with the best green olives imaginable. We polished it off in short order, and I began a quest to capture all of those great flavors. And here you have it – a thick, rich, garlic and lemony hummus, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with plenty of green olives. Nothing better than a wonderful evening, a wonderful friend, and equally wonderful food. As a little added bonus, and because I just can’t leave well enough alone, there is also a recipe for making your own tahini on the blog. Feel free to use store bought, but if you’re feeling adventurous this might be something fun, and more fresh tasting and delicious than what you can find in the supermarket.
As mentioned before, the whole ‘make-your-own tahini’ thing is totally up to you. If you decide to venture down that road, there are only two tricks: Trick #1 is to roast those raw sesame seeds until they are at least light brown. It took me almost twenty minutes at 350 degrees until they got just right. In my first attempt, I only roasted the seeds for about ten minutes and was rewarded with a very bitter tahini, so dark is better. As long as you don’t burn them, feel free to roast as long as you like. Just pour them onto a cookie sheet and let them go to town.
The second little trick is just to have patience. Sometimes the seeds don’t want to cooperate and make a past right away, so you just kind of have to keep working it. You can see that I didn’t get a 100 percent creamy texture, but came pretty close, and that’s good enough for me.
Once you’ve got that nailed down or skipped all together, it’s time to make your hummus. This recipe has a secret ingredient, which happens to be water. Yep – water. Have you ever had hummus that is so thick you just can’t choke it down? Adding water and whipping the daylights out of this hummus in a food processor will produce a lot of fluff and air. I happen to like this idea because it means more can be eaten without guilt. It comes together in a flash and you’ll be ready to chow down in no time. Don’t forget the olive oil – it adds a richness and depth to this little number.
It’s a lot of fun to assemble, so feel free to pile on those olives if you like, and sprinkle with plenty of paprika. You can also pass lemon wedges for those whole like that kind of thing.
I love to buy flatbread or pita bread, then brush with olive oil and sprinkle with assorted seeds and herbs and crisp them up in the oven to serve this with.
Enough talking – let’s get down to business! Pull up a chair, grab some chips and dive right on in.
Hope you enjoy this one as much as we do. Thanks so much for reading today!! xoxoxo
Chickpea Hummus with Homemade Tahini & Green Olives
Ingredients
- FOR THE HUMMUS
- 6 cups or about 4 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1- cup water
- ½ - ¾ cup lemon juice
- 1- cup tahini sesame seed butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup minced green olives optional, for garnish
- Paprika and olive oil optional, for garnish
- FOR THE TAHINI
- 2 cups raw sesame seeds roasted for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until light brown
- Approximately ¼ - ½ cup canola oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- FOR THE TAHINI
- Pour ¼ cup canola oil into a blender.
- Add half the roasted sesame seeds and blend until smooth.
- Add about ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Add remaining roasted sesame seeds and as much oil as you need to make a smooth paste.
- Be patient! Sometimes it takes awhile for the seeds to cooperate and form a paste. You’ll most likely have to keep pushing down the seed mixture into the blender until everything comes together.
- Taste and add more salt if needed. This should make about 1 ½ cups of tahini.
- FOR THE HUMMUS
- In a food processor, combine chickpeas, water, and lemon juice. Process to a smooth paste.
- Add tahini, garlic, cumin, and salt, and continue processing to a smooth paste.
- Taste and adjust seasonings and lemon to your preference.
- TO SERVE
- In a good-sized flat-bottomed bowl or rectangular serving dish, spread Hummus evenly.
- Drizzle with olive oil and scatter chopped green olive over the top (if using)
- Serve with pita bread cut into triangles, crackers, or crostini.