Hummus is a delicious and nutty Middle Eastern dip perfect with pita chips, flatbread, vegetable crudites, or part of a mezze platter.
Lately it’s been quiet around here because I’ve been working a lot and traveling this month. Last weekend we visited the Bay Area and my sister in law took us to DishDash, a wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant in downtown Mountain View. After years of telling her that we weren’t interested in going, it ended up being the best meal on our trip! Since we’ve been making our own flatbread, hummus, kofta, and chicken kabob for years, I was skeptical that a chain restaurant could wow us but boy was I wrong! We came for dinner at 6 pm and the restaurant was packed. For appetizers, I ordered the hummus and baba ghanoush. I was in utter silence after my first taste of the hummus. It was the BEST hummus that I have ever tasted. Light. Creamy. Flavorful. Both my husband and son agreed. We literally stuffed our bellies with hummus and pita bread while we waited for the entrees. Our main courses, mansaf (slow cooked lamb, yogurt, and basmati rice) and combo kebab of chicken, kofta, and lamb were cooked perfectly and so delicious!
Since coming home, I’ve been playing around with my hummus recipe to get the taste and texture similar to the hummus at DishDash. I took a quick iphone snap of their hummus recipe and only three ingredients were listed: organic garbanzo beans, tahini, and extra virgin olive oil. We have those ingredients stockpiled in our pantry so it’s been a breeze to whip up a batch.
For the hummus, I usually use canned garbanzo beans to save time but you can use dried ones if you have time to soak it the night before cooking it. Make sure you use good quality tahini and olive oil since traditional Middle Eastern hummus isn’t flavored. I do add in a clove of garlic for extra kick and fresh lemon juice to add a bright note. To get the creaminess and smoothness of Dish Dash’s hummus, I had a little help from my Vitamix. When I’m lazy and use my Cuisinart food processor it comes out a bit more chunky. I love garnishing mine with chive blossoms from our garden and toasted sesame seeds since the oniony taste of chive blossoms and nuttiness of sesame seeds perfectly complement the creaminess of hummus. This hummus version is our favorite but you can garnish yours with sumac, paprika, zaatar, or whatever you fancy. We love eating this hummus with pita chips, using it as a spread on toast and sandwiches, and adding it as part of a mezze with flatbread.
For more Middle Eastern recipes inspiration, you might like these recipes: grilled harissa chicken, dukkah crusted eggs with hummus and flatbread, harissa roasted salmon.
Garbanzo bean hummus with chive blossoms and toasted sesame seeds
Ingredients
- 1 can of organic garbanzo beans, 16 oz
- 6 tbsps tahini
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil and extra for topping
- 2 tbsps fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup water and more if needed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsps chive blossoms
- 2 tbsps toasted black or white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans.
- Place the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic in a Vitamix or food processor and pulse for a minute until combined.
- Add the garbanzo beans and water to the tahini mixture and pulse for 3-4 minutes until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed to integrate all the large chunks. If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add one tablespoon of water at a time and pulse until you get the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Scrape the hummus into a bowl, top with additional extra virgin olive oil, and garnish with chive blossoms and toasted sesame seeds.
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