The best hummus

It had been a while since I’d made hummus at home. I’m a big fan of my mother’s recipe, which I’ll have to make again soon, but this one is different. I had some dried chickpeas left over from a recipe the Engineer had made and I wanted to use them up. It’s not one of those recipes for which you have to peel the chickpeas, because ain’t nobody got time for that (though I’d consider adding ice cold aquafaba instead of olive oil to see what happens). As it is, though, this is the BEST hummus I’ve ever made, and it was plenty smooth and creamy without having to peel the chickpeas! When I made it, I gChatted with the Engineer, and it went a little something like this…
LFG – Hey, you know how Jerusalem Grill has the best hummus ever?
Eng – Umm… Yeah?
LFG – Well, they’ve got some competition. IN OUR KITCHEN!

So yeah, this was amazing. The Engineer said it was ridiculous how good it was, and I should just throw away any other hummus recipe I have because they will never hold a candle to this one. It was presented in Bon Appétit on two occasions and was created by Michael Solomonov, chef at Philadelphia’s Dizengoff (which, BTW, *delivers* hummus). It’s certainly not hard to make, but it is a bit long, even though some of it is remembering to soak the chickpeas the day before. For presentation tips, see here for the hummus swoosh technique.

1 cup dried chickpeas
2 tsp. baking soda, divided
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
⅓ cup (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
⅔ cup tahini
¼ tsp. (or more) ground cumin
olive oil (for serving)

Place chickpeas and 1 tsp. baking soda in a medium bowl and add cold water to cover by 2". Cover and let sit at room temperature until chickpeas have doubled in size, 8–12 hours. Drain and rinse.

Combine soaked chickpeas and remaining 1 tsp. baking soda in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover by at least 2". Bring to a boil, skimming surface as needed. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until chickpeas are tender and completely falling apart, 45–60 minutes. Drain; set aside.

Meanwhile, process garlic, lemon juice, and 1 tsp. salt in a food processor until coarsely puréed; let sit 10 minutes to allow garlic to mellow.

Strain garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible. Return liquid to food processor; discard solids. Add tahini and pulse to combine. With motor running, add ¼ cup ice water by the tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick. Add chickpeas and cumin and process, occasionally scraping down sides, until mixture is extremely smooth, about 4 minutes. Thin with more water if you prefer a looser consistency; taste and season with salt, more lemon juice, and more cumin as desired.

Spoon hummus into a shallow bowl, making a well in the center, and drizzle liberally with oil. Top as desired.