My Super Garlicky Inauthentic Hummus

Plus an easy salad to serve it with. Part of My Big-Batch Recipe Series.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

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My Super Garlicky Inauthentic Hummus:

This very inauthentic hummus is adapted from a recipe I learned while working as bartender in a craft beer bar in Columbus, Ohio, called Bodega. My favorite lunch used to be a house salad with a large dollop of hummus and a drizzle of sriracha. My favorite snack used to be a cup of hummus, with celery, carrots, tortilla chips, and lots of sriracha. Yes, to make matters worse, I love to eat hummus with sriracha. That’s a story for another time.

The flavor base for this hummus is garlic and fresh mint. You can adjust the amount of garlic and mint in your version, but be warned that we like ours very garlicky.

This particular hummus has quite a bit of body making it perfect for sandwiches! Is there anything better than a slice of whole wheat sourdough bread with a spread of harissa, a thick layer of hummus, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and micro greens?

If you are serving hummus as a side or dip make sure to finish it with paprika and extra virgin olive oil. I also like a little heat, so I add a sprinkle of my favorite Spanish chili powder from a ñora pepper. According to the Food and Wines from Spain website,

“The ñora is a dried pepper mainly used to make pimentón (a type of Spanish paprika) in Murcia and to season dishes.”

You can of course use any other type of pepper/chili powder you have on hand such as gochugaru, aleppo is divine, or even crushed red pepper flakes. You can also leave out the chili powder all together and just use your favorite type of paprika.

Big-Batch Recipe Series:

This is the first of many big-batch recipes that I am excited to share with you all. This recipe can feed a lot of people or a few people for a long time. It’s part of my bulk recipe repertoire. Last week I talked about my inability to meal prep. Seriouesly though, these types of big-batch recipes is the closest I come to meal planning.

For example, when I know I have a hard week coming up, I will try to make this recipe since we can eat hummus that entire week. This recipe makes a lot of hummus! The yield is about 170 oz of hummus, it just fits into a large IKEA mixing bowl, this is the one I use. This is to give an idea of just how much volume I am talking about.

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Hummus is a very versatile dish and can be served in a multitude of ways. Tell me in the comments, what’s your favorite way to enjoy hummus?

Tools:

• 16 cup food processor

• 4 cup measuring cup

• 6 to 8 quart large mixing bowl

• silicone spatula

Ingredient List: 

Hummus:

• 1.5 cups tahini

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup lemon juice

• 1/2 cup lime juice

• 1 tablespoon black ground pepper

• 1 tablespoon table salt

• 1 tablespoon gochugaru

• 1.5 tablespoons cumin

• 10 to 20 garlic cloves

• 1 cup fresh mint

• 111 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained well

• 1 cup ice cold water

To serve:

• 3 to 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Good quality paprika

• Good quality chili powder such as aleppo, gochugaru, ñora etc.

Salad:

• 2 heads iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

• 4 stalks green onion, diced

• 10 radishes, sliced

• 1 medium cucumber, sliced

• table salt to taste

• 3 to 5 tablespoons unrefined sunflower oil

Method: 

1. For the Hummus: In a large measuring cup, add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, ground black pepper, salt, gochugaru, and cumin. Mix with a spatula or a small whisk until everything is just combined.

2. Place garlic and mint in the food processor, pulse a couple of times. Now scrape the sides of the food processor and continue to pulse until you get a relatively fine paste of the two.

3. Now add a third of the tahini spice mixture and about half of the chickpeas to the food processor. Process until a smooth mixture is formed. While the mixer is running, slowly pour in a quarter of a cup of ice cold water into the food processor. Once you have a smooth mixture, remove about three cups of hummus and add another third of tahini mixture and half of the remaining chickpeas. Process until a smooth mixture is formed. Again, while the mixer is running, slowly pour in a quarter of a cup of ice cold water into the food processor. Repeat the same steps one more time with the remaining ingredients.

4. Pour the finished hummus in a large mixing bowl and combine everything well with a spatula. You can add more ice water if the consistency is too thick.

   1. I usually add the entire cup of ice water to the hummus during the mixing process but sometimes I need to adjust the consistency at the very end.

5. For the Salad: In a large mixing bowl, add the lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, radishes, cucumber and toss to combine. Now give the salad a good pinch or two of table salt and toss to distribute. Finish with lots of sunflower oil and toss to coat the salad.

6. To Serve: Take a medium bowl and add as much hummus as you want. Smooth the top out with a spoon to create a shallow well. Sprinkle with a pinch of paprika and chili powder. Cover with a good amount of olive oil. Serve together with the salad.