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Looks awesome and I can't wait to try it, but is it possible to buy premade Tahini anywhere?

A hint from a Lebanese grandmother - rinse and drain the chickpeas then boil them in water. Most of the hulls will boil off and you can scoop them off the top of the water. It makes the hummus much smoother and creamier. She also says to add a little warm water and save the olive oil to pour over the top when it's finished.

(I'm not the Lebanese grandmother - I just go to a Middle Eastern church.)

Jim - Is there a Lebanese (or international) grocery nearby? I can find it at both a Lebanese and Greek grocery.

Some.. umm... higher end stores are also starting to sell it.

My local upscale grocery store carries it in both the bulk section and in containers (next to the pre-made hummus). If you have a Whole Foods or Traders Joe or other upscale store nearby, you might want to check the section where they keep the hummus to see if they stock tahini as well.

I made the mistake of buying dried hummus mix once. Never ever ever again. This recipe is so simple! I'll have to stop grabbing the pre-made containers when the base ingredients are so cheap.

can anyone tell me how long this lasts in the fridge once it's made?

I buy tahini at Raley's in the mediocre "healh food" section. It's by the organic peanut butter. However, I didn't put it in my hummus when I made it yesterday - lately I've been doing a little creative flavoring and this time I put in roasted red peppers. It gives it a little sweetness for lack of a better descriptor and I love it. Also, it turns my hummus pink.

If there's a Whole Foods near you, look on the shelves near the jarred peanut butter. They carry MaraNatha brand tahini.

Eliza, when I make hummus it lasts for at least a week (and my version is very similar to this recipe). Maybe this is because the fresh lemon juice acts as a preservative?

Tahini questions:
The tahini that I bought is super liquidy, and I gathered from the recipe linked above that it is typically more of a paste. I wanted to make tahini sauce to put over falafel, and was really dubious about adding as much water and lemon juice as the recipe called for since the tahini itelf was so runny. I figured I'd end up with tahini soup. But when I added the lemon juice and water, the tahini seized up enough to make the sauce the right consistency in the end. Is this normal? Will my liquid tahini behave the same way in the hummus, or water it down too much? Thx!

J - I think when I make tahini at home my food processor is simply not powerful enough to produce the super-fine liquid/paste you find in the grocery. Also, I think those tend to have a lot more oil than I use in mine.

My results with baba ghanoush and hummus back yours up - they tend to be pretty similar when made with a thicker homemade paste vs. the thinner storebought stuff.

I would just start with a smaller amount of liquid, in case, and add more to taste. A recipe like this is going really be adjusted for taste and texture every time you make it anyway.

I prefer my hummus extra smooth, so I use chickpea flour instead of chickpeas. You add the flour to gently boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Everything else is the same. Call me a purist, but it angers me a little that there are so many inferior versions of hummus for sale out there. Why do they call it hummus, when it's not even close to the real thing?

I don't use any olive oil in my hummus -- I figure the tahini has enough oil in it as it is! If it starts getting to thick, I use the liquid drained from the canned chickpeas to thin it out. Also, cumin, paprika, and some white pepper will bring the flavor out.

bubble--I'd like to try this. How much chickpea flour and how much water are you using? What is the ratio or do you just eyeball it? If so what consistency are you looking for? Thanks.

Saluki, I'd say it's 3/4 cup of flour for 1.5 cups of water. I'll double-check when I get home. The consistency is initially pretty thin, but it gets thicker as it cools, so that by the time it's cold it looks like polenta, almost.

J - is your tahini separating? By that I mean, is the thinner oil rising to the top? If so, just give it a stir.

If you're making Taratour (tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water), the tahini/lemon does make a paste then you basically use the water to thin it. In my experience, the processor will keep the tahini/lemon in hummus from getting too thick.

With your falafel, I also recommend Lift - pickled turnips. I thought I would hate them but the pickling really mellows the flavor. They're delicious on pita with falafel and taratour. (Or if you're my husband, standing over the kitchen sink with the jar and a fork.)

This is my recipe too, and I tinker with the garlic and salt and lemon juice, but I also add some crushed red pepper (powdered) and some Hungarian Paprika from Penzey's Spices. It gives it a subtle kick.

Thanks, Faith. I'll give the hummus a shot with my runny tahini!

Swan, that was my first thought, but I shook the jar vigorously, and it didn't make a difference. I was making Taratour sauce, and it worked just like you said: the lemon thickened the tahini, then I used the water to achieve the right consistency. I'll have to google a recipe for the pickled turnips. That's the silver lining to living someplace where there isn't much restaurant or grocery store variety - I am learning how to make all sorts of good things myself.

Thanks Bubble--I'll start with those proportions
and pretend I'm making polenta. LOL

I'm too lazy and I don't own or want to buy a blemder or food processor. I get my hummus at trader joes for $3. I just bought a tub yesterday since I was there. :-)

Thanks BetsyFine!! Sounds like it's worth making; I'll just be sure to finish it.

Along these same lines: can anyone recommend a Middle Eastern cookbook? Something straightforward but also with delicious recipes!

Eliza- I guess the best of the Middleeast cookbooks would be The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

I still have her 1968 version worn to shreds.
Although I have many other books on the region--this is the one I return to again and again.

If you are interested in the origins of dishes
she includes that as well. It's well laid out and the recipes are easy to follow. She also has a later book Arabesque which covers
Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon which is
more limited but wonderful as well.

Saluki,

Thanks so much! It looks like a great book, very thorough! Now to get a copy... :)

Totally second the Claudia Roden reccomendation! Keisha - its so worth making your own - much nicer! Cook the chickpeas til they're soft enough to mash a fork/potato masher. I normally put some warm water in mine too. I once jammed my blender trying to make hummous! D'oh, couldn't wait for the chickpeas to go soft enough. Swan thanx for the Lebanese grandma tips!

Eliza - I've heard great things about Helen Corey. She has a book called "Healthy Syrian and Lebanese Cooking". I've never tried her recipes but I'm taking a one day class with her next weekend.

Our church also published a cookbook that includes all sorts of recipes from the Middle Eastern women in our church. If you're interested, I can see about getting a copy to you.

(In case it isn't painfully obvious, I want to spread the love of Middle Eastern food.)

I generally skip the tahini when I make my hummus recipe because I rarely have it on hand, but it's easy to find at Middle Eastern grocery stores if you particularly want it. Taste your hummus as you make it, since adjusting the lemon and garlic content is what will make it appeal to your particular tastes. In some places, a layer of sesame oil is put on top when serving it.

My recipe uses two cans, so it makes a generous amount and I generally freeze it in small containers to store for later use. It thaws well and is *so* much yummier than the store bought kind and has no additives.

The Arab Table by May Bsisu (sic) is my favorite of the Middle Eastern cookbooks. Her kibbe recipe is the best one I've ever found. I am also partial to the Complete Armenian Cookbook by Alice Bezjian. It includes a lot of pan-Middle Eastern food, not just Armo dishes.

I think you can certainly create smooth and creamy hummus in a food processor (I'm using a Kenwood FP920) but you need to let it process for quite a while, slowly, until it reaches the consistency you want.

My recipe is very similar, but I use a bit less tahini (2-3 tablespoons to a small can) and I use lime juice instead of lemon. I just think it tastes fresher with lime.

I took some Arabic language classes at SMU (before 9/11) just for fun from their Informal Courses program, and our teacher, a PhD-ed Damascus native who translated for corporate clients, peppered his lessons with recipes.

He had a visceral reaction to olive oil in hummus recipes. He taught us that only a truly neutral ingredient -- plain yogurt -- should be used to weight down and help cream the chickpeas. Olive oil, along with lemon juice and sparce sprinkles of cayenne, were only for garnish. He shook his finger in the air when he told us... and darnit he was right.

Those suggestions all look great! Can't wait to try them - especially the chickpea flour method. It's the perfect way to use up that bag sitting in my pantry!

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