When you combine garbanzo beans, garlic (and plenty of it), olive oil, lemon juice, peanut butter/tahini (more to come on this issue later), salt, and spices, the result is something I want to put in my mouth sooner rather than later and in large quantities. Here's our method for easy and delicious homemade hummus.
In the past we have used canned garbanzo beans, but lately HH has been buying them in bulk and soaking them overnight, then cooking them in the slow cooker for a couple hours. Bulk beans are virtually always cheaper than canned ones and not that much extra work. It's also easier to use the cooking liquid to thin the hummus to the right consistency than using the liquid that canned beans are stored in and must be drained from.
When it comes to garlic, more is always better in my opinion (HH does not necessarily share this opinion, especially since he claims to be able to smell garlic emanating from my pores for days). But, I was the one making the hummus this time, hence the additional cloves added to the food processor in the second picture. I probably used 4 medium sized cloves in total.
After the garlic has been minced, add in 2ish cups of beans (or up to 2/3rds of your food processor's capacity), a tablespoon of peanut butter or tahini, 1/2 lemon's worth of fresh squeezed juice, a couple pinches of salt, and 1/4 cup or so of olive oil. Process until combined.
At this point, your fledgling hummus will likely be thick and not as tasty as the final product will end up being. Add some cooking water and 1 teaspoon each of cumin and paprika. Process, streaming in a bit more olive oil as you go.
At this point, taste the hummus; it will almost definitely need some tweaking. I usually need to add more salt and lemon juice to taste, and possibly some additional spice, like a pinch of cayenne. Just don't go overboard all at once for any one element...we've made hummus that was too salty, too lemony, too cumin-y, and that's always a bummer (but never too garlicky, in my opinion). If it's still too thick, add more cooking water until it gets to the consistency that you like.
If possible, eat immediately with homemade pita fresh from the oven. Other delicious dipping options include veggies like bell peppers or hearty crackers like Triscuits. The hummus will store for a week or so in the fridge, but ours never seems to last that long.
Now to address the peanut butter/tahini controversy. Traditionally, tahini or sesame seed paste is used to make hummus, but we never used it because we didn't want to buy it. We used peanut butter instead because we always had it on hand. Sidebar: I love, love, love peanut butter and typically eat at least a tablespoon every day. (At least.) However, a while back we acquired a tub of tahini and tried it in some varied recipes, without much success. The flavor and the texture were just not appealing. Unfortunately, I forgot about those instances while making this batch of hummus and used it, regrettably, in place of my beloved peanut butter. After tasting the hummus and realizing it didn't taste quite right, I gave some to HH to try. As soon as he realized I had used tahini, a yelp escaped from his lips as he reminded me of our previous bad experiences with it. He then immediately proceeded to throw the remainder of the tub away. Luckily I wasn't able to fit all of the garbanzo beans in the processor the first time around, so I made a second batch this time reverting to our tried and true peanut butter, combining the two versions at the end. Perhaps you have had a different, more positive experience with tahini. If so, feel free to go the traditional route when making hummus. As for HH and I, we will stick with what we know we like/love.
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