Delicious Garlic Hummus

On the few occasions I’ve bought hummus at the grocery store, I received a scoff from my Turkish husband. While I only ever ate hummus once in all of the many trips we’ve taken to Turkey over the years, my husband used to manage the kitchen of a Turkish restaurant (where we met, actually) where it was one of the most popular appetizers on the menu. I remember taking a container home to enjoy as a late dinner after many of my serving shifts. 

It’s easy to make and what’s more, it tastes way better when you make it at home.

There’s only a few ingredients needed to make this delicious dish that you can serve as an appetizer, side dish, or if you’re like me, a full on meal with a plate full of veggies!

You can make this with canned chickpeas, or you can prepare dry beans if you’re thinking ahead. For somewhere in the middle, use a pressure cooker and they’ll be ready in just over an hour. I usually cook a whole bag and divvy them up for different uses. Some will go to hummus, the rest will go in salads, soups, etc.

When it comes to oil, I typically use cold-pressed olive oil from Turkey because it’s what we have in our home. You can use avocado oil, or whatever meets your health needs. It’s best to use a light flavored oil and vegetable oil fits the bill here, but on the health factor it’s not as great. I don’t mind the taste of our oil and try to opt for health as often as possible.

The only ingredient you may not have handy if you don’t typically prepare Mediterranean food is tahini. I’ve started to see this in standard grocery stores but if not, you’ll definitely find it in a Mediterranean market.

I will provide one disclaimer for this recipe — it’s got raw garlic so your mouth is going to be full-blast garlic town for a bit. It might not be a bad idea to be prepared with gum, or maybe not serve it at all if you’re on a date. Later when you’re married, you can breathe the garlic fumes into each others’ face.

Here’s what you need:

4 cups of chickpeas (that’s about 2 15.5 ounce cans)

2 cloves of garlic (3 if they are small)

½ cup of oil

3 tablespoons of tahini

1 teaspoon of white pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

Lemon juice from 1 lemon

1 cup of ice

½ cup of water

Take all of the ingredients and place into a food processor or blender. To get the hummus very smooth, let it run for at least 5 minutes. If it seems too dry and not mixing properly, add a little bit of water (but not too much, the ice will melt as it is mixing. Just add enough to get the blender going). You can also try picking up the blender, shaking it up a little bit to move everything around, and start the blender again. 

When you plate the hummus, create a small indentation in the center with a spoon and pour in a little bit of olive oil. When entertaining, we usually throw in a couple of mediterranean olives in the oil pond as well as sprinkle with sumac. 

Serve with sliced veggies, toasted pita, crackers, whatever you or your guests will enjoy. You can also just scoop it up with a spoon!

Print Recipe

Delicious Garlic Hummus

Small Bites – Mediterranean

By Janice Yucel – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 5 Minutes – Cooking Time: 5 Minutes – Total Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups of chickpeas
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup of oil
• 3 tablespoons of tahini
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Lemon juice from 1 lemon
• 1 cup of ice
• ½ cup of water

Instructions

1

Take all of the ingredients and place into a food processor or blender.

2

Let blender run for at least 5 minutes.

3

Plate the hummus, create a small indentation in the center with a spoon and pour in a little bit of olive oil.

4

Garnish with sumac and olives.

5

Serve with sliced veggies, toasted pita, crackers, whatever you or your guests will enjoy.