Black Pepper Hummus

Software

• 2 cans (≈ 400g or 14oz each) of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 150mL (²/₃ cup) of extra virgin olive oil
• 75 mL (¹/₃ cup) of tahini
• 120mL (¹/₂ cup or about 2 lemons worth) of lemon juice
• 10mL (2 teaspoons) salt
• 30mL (2 Tablespoons) black pepper

Hardware

• 1 blender

Instructions

1. 1. Add all the ingredients into the blender and puree them as thoroughly as possible.

Output

You can expect ≈1kg of hummus.

More

Discussion

There are a lot of things that can modify the flavor of this hummus, including the type and size of lemons used, the brand of chickpeas, and so on. But the three most important things seem to be the pepper, the olive oil, and the tahini. The tahini I get is usually separated, which means that, depending on the amount of solids and liquids I get, the flavor and consistency of the hummus can noticeably change. As for brand, I use LaToya; it is easily available to me and the Greeks I originally got the recipe from insisted I use that kind. The olive oil is even more important, because different brands have very different characteristics: some are fruitier, some have a more peppery flavor, some are fairly balanced, and so on. I tend to think the fruitier olive oils (e.g., Lucini) work best, followed by the more balanced ones (e.g., Great Value, the Walmart store brand). The pepper is also crucial. Obviously, the older the pepper is or the longer it has sat around after grinding, the less flavor (especially fruitiness) it has. And while I do like freshly ground black pepper for many things, it does have a downside in this application: it is usually not ground finely enough to distribute properly through the hummus. If you use only coarsely ground pepper, then, you may need to increase the amount by 50% or more, depending on the coarseness.

Variations

• The salt can be very tricky to get right, but you can try using a little more or a little less to taste.
• Because of the different character of this hummus, I don't know how well things such as roasted red peppers or kalamata olives would work if mixed in, but I'd be happy to hear from you if you've tried this!