classic hummus

I love hummus. It’s great for dipping veggies, amazing with pita bread, and heck, I’ll even eat a spoonful of it once in a while for a boost of protein. I almost always have a container of hummus in my fridge, and I love trying different flavors and brands. And though I’ve tried some pretty great packaged hummus, one thing I know for sure, is it’s almost always better when homemade.

I’m not sure if it’s the fresh ingredients or the fact that you can customize the seasoning to what you like, but as much as I love my favorite hummus brands, my homemade version just knocks my socks off every time.

What exactly is this dish I keep raving about?

Hummus is a Middle Eastern dish traditionally made with a base of chickpeas and tahini (ground sesame seed paste) and mixed with lemon juice and garlic. There are many other ingredients you can add if you’d like, and it’s usually garnished with olive oil and fresh herbs.

In many parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean, hummus is considered a dish called a meze (or mezze). Eaten either as an appetizer, a snack, or as part of a meal, meze is basically a small plate meant for sharing with the table. Foods like roasted vegetables, olives, pita, and baba ganoush are other types of mezes that can typically be enjoyed with hummus.

A meze meal is one of my favorite ways to eat, as I love tasting and sampling a bunch of different foods rather than just having one personal meal. I also love the social aspect of meze—sharing a bunch of different foods with the table is so much more fun than everyone having their own thing!

What to enjoy with hummus

A great thing about hummus is you can enjoy it with so many different foods and in different ways. My favorite way to eat hummus is probably as a dip with lots of different veggies, particularly raw cucumber, bell pepper, and carrots, roasted eggplant, and roasted zucchini. It’s also great with warm pita bread or pita chips.

Another fun thing I love to do with hummus is use it as a spread on sandwiches and bagels. For a hearty and savory breakfast, spread some hummus on a bagel, and top it with sliced cucumber and freshly ground pepper. Or use it as the base layer of a turkey sandwich filled with lettuce and tomato.

what makes this meze

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious meze:

Chickpeas Also known as garbanzo beans, you’ll need an entire can of chickpeas. Or if you’re feeling ambitious, you can use dry chickpeas, and cook them from scratch!

Tahini Toasted, ground sesame seeds are used to make this delightful paste. It’s nutty and amazing. Buy a jar of this, and I promise I’ll have more tahini recipes for you at some point!

Fresh lemons A freshly juiced lemon give hummus its tanginess

Garlic A hummus necessity. If you’re a garlic-lover like me, you can also roast some in the oven to add to your hummus

Extra virgin olive oil Be liberal here!

Fresh parsley, red pepper flakes, pine nuts These are optional, but I highly recommend adding these to garnish your hummus

Once you’ve perfected your hummus, I fully expect an invite to your next meze dinner party 🙂

⟶ the recipe

classic hummus

ingredients

½ cup tahini

¼ cup water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 15-ounce can of chickpeas

Handful of chopped parsley

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Spoonful of pine nuts

Salt and pepper

Prep time

10 minutes

Cook time

5 minutes

Total time

15 minutes

4 servings

instructions

Place the tahini, water, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a food processor.

Blend until smooth, then add chickpeas and more water if needed, until the desired consistency has been reached.

Transfer hummus to a bowl and generously drizzle with more olive oil. Garnish with chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and pine nuts.

⟶ recipe notes

There are many different ways you can play up your classic hummus. Try adding roasted garlic or red pepper, for one. Another favorite of mine with upping the spice factor by adding a hot pepper, like jalapeño, to the dip