Israeli Hummus

I would imagine canned chickpeas would probably work for this recipe, but I prefer the texture of dried beans.  I soaked the beans overnight in eight cups of cold water.  After soaking the beans, I boiled 10 cups of water with the baking soda in a large pot over high heat.  I drained the chickpeas and added them to the pot.  Once the water returned to a simmer, I turned the heat down to medium and cooked the chickpeas until the skins started falling off and the beans were tender about 45 minutes.

I drained the chickpeas in a colander over a large bowl, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.  I let it sit for a few minutes until all the liquid drained.  I set aside two tablespoons of the chickpeas and put the rest in the food processor.  I added the salt and processed the beans for three minutes.

After three minutes, I added the tahini and continued to process it for another minute until the mixture lightened and was very smooth.  I scraped the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  The recipe calls for adding the 3/4 cup of cooking liquid and lemon juice while the food processor is running, but my processor does not allow that, so I added the liquids a little at a time as I processed them until combined.  I also added the roasted garlic, again processing to combine it.  I tasted the hummus and added a little more salt until it was right.

I moved the hummus to a serving bowl and created a well in the center with a large spoon.  I drizzled the olive oil into the well and then topped it with the reserved chickpeas (I chopped them up), parsley, cumin, and paprika. 

This recipe was so easy that I may never buy hummus at the store again.