Authentic Hummus

We all know beans are full of fiber, but how do we turn them into something spectacular? There are countless ways but one of my all time favorites is hummus! Spread on toast, in your sandwich, dressing for your greens, or scooped up with pita, this versatile and simple dish aids digestion woes yet is a pleasure for our taste buds!!

For most of my vegan journey I believed I would never be able to make hummus as creamy and tasty as authentic restaurant made or store bought kind. I made many attempts but they all resulted in a bit of a disappointment. Either not creamy enough or lacking in flavor, but not anymore!! I am excited to announce I now know how to make hummus perfectly. Velvety smooth, tangy and fatty, perfection.

I stumbled upon a Saudi Arabian woman’s youtube channel. She has a vegan cooking channel and blog. http://sukkarilife.com/ Her recipe is what transformed my hummus game. She has done extensive research on how to make authentic Saudi Arabian restaurant style hummus. Her secret ingredient is nothing special but still blew my mind!

Ice! I’ll explain below!

Ingredients:

2 cups dry chickpeas

3 bay leaves

1 tsp baking soda

¼ Cup tahini (ground sesame, by peanutbutter)

1 juice of large lemon

¾ cup of ICE!

Salt to taste

Chickpeas:

Soak beans for 24 hours changing water once.
Wash and drain chickpeas.
Add chickpeas to a pot with water 3 inches above chickpeas, add baking soda and bay leaves.
Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer.
Cook for about 1 hour or until chickpeas are soft and mush easily.

For hummus:

Drain and let chickpeas cool completely.
Blend chickpeas with rest of ingredients until smooth.
Garnish with paprika or cumin.

This recipe is so delicious as is but feel free to play with this recipe! Add roasted garlic, roasted red pepper, cilantro jalapeno, or any other flavor you want! I was even scheming dessert hummus or using this idea in baked goods! When you see how light and creamy it turns out you will know what I mean!