The beautiful irony of making the richest, smoothest hummus from dried peas.
This is the one and only coranavirus post I will make.
Shortly after my company mandated that we work from home in mid-March, (I'm a commercial property manager, an essential service), my husband and I went to shop for a few things. He had been the main one to go out gathering goods for the household and had been sharing tales of not being able to find certain things, so I wanted to join him, and see for myself. I anticipated that there would be no toilet paper and other paper goods, soap, and hand sanitizer but I could not have imagined the desolation that existed on the grocery store shelves.
I'm plant-based and eat relatively "healthy" so I just KNEW that all of "my foods" would be in plentiful supply. Boy was I wrong. Dead wrong.
I went down the canned goods aisle and just about everything was gone. Organic, non-organic, high-sodium, low-sodium, no-sodium, it didn't matter, it was GONE. Ghost. I was in mild shock - utter disbelief. But then, it started to make sense. Canned goods last a really long time so even if people don't normally eat certain foods, they might purchase any and all goods for just-in-case they run out of what they normally eat.
Since I couldn't find my store-brand organic canned chickpeas, I went to the next aisle over, the dry beans aisle, confident that there would be PLENTY of bags of dried beans of every type (because NO ONE soaks and cooks beans and peas for hours anymore, right?). Folks, there was one - ONE bag of dried chickpeas! I was definitely in total disbelief. Then again, dried goods ALSO last a really long time. But chickpeas? That many folks eat chickpeas? Guess so. Now the reality is that I could have gone to another store but at that point, I'd lost any confidence that I might find what I needed/wanted at another store. And, I've always wanted to use dried chickpeas in my recipes so I now had my golden moment. And boy was it a phenomenal moment.
So now to the recipe, which is what you folks really want. I think the key to this hummus being so rich and creamy is soaking the dried beans for a very long time, and then cooking them slightly longer than needed (because they didn't need the full cook time after soaking so long). But it turned out to be a domino effect of complete and utter goodness!
(Recipe adapted from the black peppercorrn)
1 cup dry chickpeas
1 tsp salt (I like Himalayan pink because it's less salty)
1/2 tsp baking soda
water
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp tahini
1-2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp water (or more if needed)
1-1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
pita bread, crackers, fresh veggies
Instructions
1. Place dry chickpeas in a large pot and fill with water so that water is at least 1-2 inches above the peas. Soak overnight on counter (I think these babies ended up soaking for close to 24 hours, and leaving them on the counter at room temp seems to have amplified the water soakage - that's a word, right?).
2. Drain chickpeas. Please in a pot with new water, salt and baking soda.
3. Bring chickpeas to a boil. Once water boils, lower the heat to a low boil. Cook chickpeas for an hour.
4. Drain chickpeas and let cool to room temperature.
5. Using the food processor or Ninja, pulse chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, water, 1 tbsp of the olive oil and cumin. Check the consistency and add more water if needed.
6. To serve, scoop into a bowl and drizzle with remaining olive oil and crushed red pepper on top of the hummus, if desired.
7. Serve with pita, crackers, or veggies (I love Original Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Six-Seed, Gluten-Free & Vegan Crackers).
This concludes my one-and-only Covid-19 tale, and making hummus from canned chickpeas.
#hummus #homemadehummus #driedchickpeas #mediterraneanrecipes #scratchcooking