Easy Soaked Hummus

Hummus has been on of our favorite foods for a long time. It was my husband's go to snack for a long time, although he normally ate store bought. Even after we had stopped buying processed foods, he would still run out to the convenience store in a pinch for some hummus. The main problem with hummus from the store is that it is not soaked and sometimes made with rancid vegetable oils. Homemade hummus tastes much better and has a better texture; store bought tends to be thin and watery. After experimenting a bit in our new home, I think I have come up with a pretty good recipe for making soaked hummus.

Some people are concerned about using dried chickpeas for homemade hummus because they are hard to cook down, even when soaked, enough to become very soft. I actually like a little more texture to my hummus so I am good with that. Another option may be to use Eden Organic chickpeas, which come in a bpa free can and are packed with nori seaweed. Adding seaweed to beans while cooking is a traditional method and makes the beans easier to digest, even if they are not properly soaked. To soak dried beans you will need:
1. two cups dried chickpeas
2. four tablespoons acid (I use raw apple cider vinegar)

*I always use this table here, but you could find many others
http://www.wonderfulingredients.com/soaking-grains-and-beans

Very easy, just cover the chickpeas and acid with clean water. The beans will double in size so leave enough water and room for that to happen. I try to get the water level just right to where I am leaving enough room but not wasting more water than I have to. Chickpeas take about 24 hours of soaking to reduce phytic acid content. I normally always do about a day and a half for grains and beans that do not sprout easily (from my experience, that includes chickpeas). 

When the beans are ready to cook, thoroughly rinse them off to diminish the acidic taste from your medium. Cook with fresh water on low heat. I leave it on the stove for a long time, up to 45 minutes even, to get them as soft as possible. Like I said, they will not become as soft as canned beans and eventually they will reach a point where they maintain their texture even with prolonged cooking. After they are done I like to rinse them with cold water to make them less hot before going into the blender and again reducing any leftover acid flavor. My recipe is:

2 cups cooked chickpeas (you will have some left over)
1 tablespoon tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 hot pepper(optional)
3 cloves garlic (lightly roasted or raw)
1/2 cup evoo
1/4 cup water
sprinkle of sea salt to taste
various herbs to taste

I puree the chickpeas with the evoo and lemon first with a good sprinkling of seas salt. From there you can add a little bit of water or more evoo to get the consistency you like. I like a thicker hummus and personally I find most recipes use too much water. I like the rich olive oil taste much better, but you can play with ratios of water and evoo (obviously there is a cost issue here too). Next add the garlic, hot pepper if you wish, and tahini. We do not like a strong tahini taste, but you could add one or two more tablespoons if you do. Get your herbs out and play around while blending them in. I like herbs de Provence as an all around mixture.

You can garnish with the extra chickpeas if you like or save them for something else. If you have any lemon juice leftover, you can squeeze some more on top before serving with a sprinkling of sea salt. I have been playing around with making my own crackers and also crostinis from leftover bread, but I snapped this picture with the organic brown rice crackers I buy sometimes. Along with some slow-cooker veggies, this makes a great afternoon snack or light lunch. You could even eat the hummus with some cut up raw veggies or placing a dollop on top of a salad to reduce the overall carbohydrates of the meal. Simple and Yummy!