Roasted Garlic Hummus

Disclaimer:  Eating this will produce some serious garlic breath but after one bite, I promise you that you will not care especially if everyone else eats it too.  Then, you will all have garlic breath together and be happy.

This is perfect to take to bbq's and potlucks so that is exactly what I did on Saturday.  It's super easy to prepare but you have to plan ahead to soak the dry beans overnight.  This does not taste like the store bought hummus you usually get at the grocery store.  It's super light and fluffy from the fresh beans and using the canned beans simply does not compare.  It's also healthy and yummy at the same time.

Recipe

Makes a whole lot of hummus

Ingredients

1 lb garbanzo beans

2 tbs baking soda

1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbs tahini

5 roasted garlic bulbs

Salt

1 tbs parsley (curly or flat leaf) finely chopped

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Paprika

Directions

Place the dry beans in a pot, add the baking soda, and give it a quick stir.  Cover the beans with cold water and soak overnight.

In the morning, rinse the beans a few times with fresh water.  Cover the beans with fresh water and place the pot over the stove.  Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 1 hour.  The beans should be soft to touch.  Drain and reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.  Cool the beans to room temperature.  

You have the option to reserve some beans for garnishing the hummus at this point.  Add the rest of the beans to a food processor and blend 'til smooth.  Add roasted garlic of 2 bulbs, lemon juice, tahini, 1 tsp of salt, and 2 tbs of reserved cooking liquid.  Blend 'til smooth.  The hummus should stick to a spoon (do not add too much cooking liquid to the mixture).  Taste and adjust lemon juice, salt, and reserved cooking liquid if necessary. 

Transfer hummus to serving plate and garnish with reserved whole beans, roasted garlic of 2 bulbs, parsley, sprinkle of paprika and drizzle of olive oil.  Save the last bulb for later.  Trust me.  The roasted garlic pieces will be picked out from the top and the last bulb can be saved so you add it later when the hummus is over half eaten.  

Serve with pita bread and veggies.

The hummus stays fresh for about 2 to 3 days in fridge.

Do you remember when I did the roasted garlic for the pizza party?  It is so super soft, sweet and delicious.  The recipe is here.



The consistency of this hummus is extremely fluffy!  When I first tried hummus like this, I couldn't believe how different it was compared to hummus from canned beans. It is on a whole another level.  Mat thought it reminded him of good mashed potatoes. 

 

Blend the hummus 'til it is really nice and smooth.

This makes a large batch of hummus.  If I was making this for just me and Mat, I would have reduced the ingredients by about 75%.  It really makes that much hummus but it is the perfect amount for large groups of people.