Why post another recipe for hummus? Does the world need yet another recipe for hummus?I think we do, firstly this hummus is made with canned chickpeas. Of course the absolute best hummus like Paula Wolfert’s classic hummus, is made with pre-soaked dried chickpeas but if you’re not up for all that pre-planning then this is the hummus for you. When you’re making hummus from scratch, you’re making hummus for a crowd and sometimes you don’t want or need that.
This is a small batch hummus, it makes a sensational dip for small parties, picnics or family games nights. It’s the kind of dip that sits happily alongside the cheeseboard and the guacamole and corn chips. If you’re not up for the pickle juice or you have no spare pickle juice on hand leave it out.
This hummus has the velvety mouth feel of a really expensive commercial dip, not because of the pickle juice but because of a couple of tricks. Firstly the canned chickpeas are simmered with a half teaspoon of bicarb soda, the bicarb soda softens the skins and causes most of of them to pop off and rise to the top where you can skim them off. I’ve moved on from painstakingly getting all the skins off , but if you get most the skins off you will still have an ultra smooth dip. The second trick is when you are processing the chickpeas you add a few ice cubes. These magically emulsify the dip making it super creamy. If you are cooking your chickpeas from scratch you can add some of the chickpea water which also creates creates extra creaminess.
Whether I’m making hummus from scratch or from canned chickpeas I always use bicarb soda, to soften the skins and remove as many skins as possible with minimum effort. I also add ice during the processing for optimal creaminess. As we roll into summer and the holiday season, life is too short to waste time on anything less than the perfect hummus.
Ultimate Hummus with Pickle Juice
- 1x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarb soda (baking soda)
- 1 lemon juiced
- 5 tablespoons of tahini
- 2-5 ice cubes (Depending on the size of the ice cubes)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbspn extra virgin oil
- 1/4 cup pickle juice
- salt to taste
- In a medium size sauce pan add chickpeas, cover with water and add bicarb soda. Bring to the boil and simmer until chickpeas are very soft about 10-15 minutes. While the chickpeas are boiling a lot of chickpea skins will rise to the top, skim as many many of them off as you can along with the foam.
- Drain chickpeas and remove as many of the skins as you can without going mad. Allow chickpeas to cool before adding to a food processor. Add crushed garlic, lemon juice, tahini, pickle juice, salt a splash of olive oil. Process and then add ice one cube at time until hummus is super smooth, glossy and velvety.
Awesome hummous with Pickle Juice
The Back Yard Lemon Tree 
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