KosherEye.com
From Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. Copyright ©2015 by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
“The secret to great Israeli-style hummus is an obscene amount of tehina, as much as half of the recipe by weight, so it's especially important to use the best quality you can find. Unlike Greek-style hummus, which is heavy on garlic and lemon, Israeli hummus is about the marriage of chickpeas and tehina."
Ingredients
Hummus
1 cup dried chickpeas
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups basic tehina sauce (recipe below)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Paprika, Chopped Parsley and Olive oil for drizzling
Zahav Basic Tehina Sauce
1 whole head garlic
¾ cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 generous cups tehina (such as Soom brand)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Directions
Hummus
Place the chickpeas in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon baking soda and cover with water. The chickpeas will double in volume, so use more water than you think you need. Let soak at room temperature overnight.. The next day drain and rinse under cold water. Place the chickpeas in a large pot with remaining teaspoon of baking soda and add cold water to cover by at least 4 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming any scum that rises to surface. Lower heat to medium, cover and let simmer about 1 hour until chickpeas are soft. (Overcooked chickpeas are the secret to creamy hummus, so don’t worry if they are mushy and break down a little.) Drain.
Combine chickpeas, tehina sauce, salt and cumin in processor. Puree the hummus for several minutes, until smooth and uber-creamy. Then puree it some more.
To serve, spread the hummus mixture in a shallow bowl, dust with paprika, top with parsley and more tehina sauce if you like and drizzle generously with oil.
Zahav Basic Tehina Sauce
Break up the head of garlic with your hands, letting the unpeeled cloves fall into a blender. Add lemon juice, and 1/4-teaspoon salt. Blend on high a few minutes until you have a coarse puree. Let mixture stand 10 minutes to let garlic mellow.
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl. pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Add the tehina to strained mixture; add cumin and 1-teaspoon salt. Whisk or use a food processor, adding ice water a few tablespoons at a time to thin out – until you have a perfectly smooth, creamy, thick sauce.
Keeps a week in refrigerator and up to a month in freezer.
Notes
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Recipe: Kosher, appetizer, parve