Ottolenghi's Creamy Hummus

SCOTLAND I LOVE YOU! For reals: Scotland is crazy pretty!

We finished our hike on Sunday — six days through the English countryside, supposedly 84 miles (but in actuality closer to 100, depending on what GPS you ask!) — in Bowness on Solway, where we could see the tide rushing in and Scotland across the water. Gorgeous! (I'll put together some photos for a post soon!) After a wonderful night in my favorite B&B of the trip, the 11 of us parted ways. For me, that means just over a week in Scotland by myself! I took the train to Edinburgh, where I immediately fell in love with the huge stone buildings — they’re so impressive!

After traveling so much in South America and Asia I still haven’t been in buildings as old as they are here — Europe is an entirely different beast! People keep asking me what I want to do — museums? castles? hikes? — and I’ve had a hard time answering them. Now, though, I think I know my answer: I want to wander around and look at gorgeous architecture! I spent my afternoon yesterday wandering (I walked nearly 6 miles yesterday, I guess I haven’t had enough!) through the streets of Edinburgh taking ten bajillion pictures of street scenes and cobblestones. Like this. And this. So pretty!! I think I’ll do the same today!

Here’s what I think YOU should do today: make hummus. This hummus, specifically.

This is from one of Ottolenghi’s fabulous cookbooks, Jerusalem. If you haven’t checked out his books… do so. They’re incredible. I read so many reviews of this hummus before making it, all of which claimed a ridiculous level of creaminess, and I frankly didn’t believe it. How can a hummus be SO MUCH CREAMIER than others? Well. I’m here to tell you: this is CREAAAAMY! And, it doesn’t take very long to make! By sautéing the chickpeas with baking soda for a few minutes you break down the chickpeas so they cook much much faster, which for me is usually a deal breaker in hummus. Who wants to cook chickpeas forever? Not me. Then: who wants to take off the skins? Not me. This recipe gets the chickpeas SO darn soft you don’t need to worry about the skins.

Then you’ll blend them for a really long time in the food processor, slowly adding water and continuing to process — the end result is the smoothest, creamiest, butteriest hummus I’ve ever tasted. Absolutely recommended!!

If you think of any Scotland tips while you’re snacking on hummus today, send them my way! I have a week to see the ENTIRE COUNTRY, so I’m really just choosing a few places (pretty much ON the beaten path)… but am totally open to suggestions! xoxo

Ottolenghi\'s Creamy Hummus

• Author: from Jerusalem
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon light tahini paste
• 4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 6 ½ Tbsp ice water

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Instructions

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. The next day, drain them.
2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the drained chickpeas and the baking soda. Cook for three minutes, stirring the entire time. Add 6.5 cups of fresh water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20-40 minutes (will depend on your chickpeas), until the chickpeas are very soft to the touch. Drain.
3. Process the chickpeas (alone) in a food processor until very smooth and thick. With the processor running, add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic cloves, and salt. Once that is smooth, slowly drizzle in the ice water (processor is still running) and continue processing for 5 more minutes. It should be extremely smooth!
4. Remove the hummus from the processor, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

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