Israeli Hummus with Paprika

May 2008, Food and Wine


Before opening Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia, chef Michael Solomonov visited hummus parlors all over Israel trying to find the best recipe. “Hummus is the hardest thing to get right,” he says. “It has to be rich, creamy and mildly nutty.” To make his hummus luxuriously smooth, he soaks the chickpeas overnight with baking soda to soften them. While Americans now flavor hummus with everything from pureed red peppers to fresh herbs, Solomonov says among the fanciest garnishes you can find in Israel are whole chickpeas, paprika and lemon-spiked tahini, used for hummus masabacha.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound dried chickpeas (or 3 15 oz. cans of chickpeas - I prefer S&W - drain and retain the liquid from one can)
1 tablespoon baking soda
7 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup tahini, at room temperature (see Note)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt
Paprika, for garnish
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Pita bread, for serving


Directions:
In a medium bowl, cover the dried chickpeas with 2 inches of water and stir in the baking soda.


Refrigerate the chickpeas overnight. Drain the chickpeas and rinse them under cold water.

In a medium saucepan, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of fresh water. Add the garlic cloves and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat until the chickpeas are tender, about 40 minutes. Drain, reserving 10 tablespoons of the cooking water and 2 tablespoons of the chickpeas. Rinse the chickpeas under cold water. Peel the garlic cloves.

In a food processor, puree the chickpeas with 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water, 1/4 cup of the olive oil and 6 of the garlic cloves. Add the cumin along with 1/4 cup each of the tahini and lemon juice and process until creamy. Season the hummus with salt and transfer to a serving bowl.

Wipe out the food processor. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of tahini, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and garlic clove and puree.
Using a ladle, make an indent in the center of the hummus. Spoon in the tahini-lemon mixture. Sprinkle the hummus with the cumin and paprika. Garnish with the reserved whole chickpeas and the parsley, and serve with pita bread.

MAKE AHEAD The ungarnished hummus and cooked chickpeas can be refrigerated separately for up to 2 days.

NOTES Tahini has a tendency to separate, so be sure to stir the sesame paste thoroughly before measuring.


Teri's Notes: In my grocery store run today, I couldn't find dried chickpeas (and I'm still so NOT over my last adventure making hummus from scatch), so I used canned, cooked chickpeas. I reserved the canning water to mimic the instructions above. I boiled the garlic for 30 minutes and used part of the garlic water with the chickpea water. (I'm trying here folks!). I'm happy to report this fabulous recipe!