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Israeli Style Hummus with Spicy Tatbelah Sauce
Israeli hummus is my favorite kind of hummus, I like it with a good amount of lemon, a lot of tahini and of good consistency, not too stiff and not too runny. Good Hummus is a dish you can eat as the main meal of the day and tastes great even when eaten solely with a spoon.
What makes a hummus recipe a good?
1. Well cooked garbanzo beans.
2. Good ratio of tahini (20%-50% of the mass).
3. Creamy texture.
4. Seasoning just right.
This is a version of a hummus recipe but certainly not the only way to make it. I probably made other versions myself. It's a good idea to know what you're looking for in terms of texture and flavor and work up to that when making the hummus. This recipe is a good starting point.
Tatbelah sauce is tangy and garlicky and works great as a topping, but you can certainly skip this part and just season the hummus with some paprika, garbanzo beans, and olive oil.
Ingredients
For the hummus:
- 1¼ cup dried chickpeas, garbanzo beans
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup light tahini paste
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- Kosher salt
For the garnish, all optional:
- Olive oil
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Parsley
- Pine nuts
- Za'atar
- Chopped parsley
For the Tatbelah sauce:
- 5 pickled spicy yellow peppers
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- The night before cooking, put the chickpeas in the cooking pot and cover with cold water at least twice their volume to soak overnight.
- Drain the chickpeas, place over high heat and add the baking soda. Stir together for 3 minutes, then add enough cold water to cover the chickpeas (about 6-7 cups)
- Bring to boil, skimming off any foam or skins. Cook for 60-90 minutes, depending on the type and freshness of the beans. When done, they should be very tender, almost mushy.
- In the meantime, make the Tatbelah sauce: put all the ingredients in a food processor and process well. Taste for seasoning.
- Drain the chickpeas and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Put the chickpeas in the refrigerator to chill (30 minutes-overnight).
- Transfer the chickpeas to a food processor or a blender and process to a stiff paste, then add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, and 1½ teaspoons salt. Pulse together and use the reserved cooking liquid in small increments until the hummus reaches your preferred consistency.
- Allow to mix until you get a very smooth and creamy paste, add a bit more of the cooking liquid if needed to loosen the paste.
- Taste the hummus to correct the seasoning, add salt and lemon juice if needed.
- To serve: spoon the hummus in a deep plate, flatten with the back of the spoon to create a groove. Drizzle with olive oil, spices, roasted pine nuts, chopped parsley and a spoonful of Tatbelah sauce.
Notes
Use a pressure cooker or an instant pot to cook the chickpeas faster to a very soft consistency - 30 minutes on low pressure.
The prepared hummus can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Make sure to take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving to reach room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
More Pictures:
Please explain why you call the hummus "Israeli"?
Of course, different countries and regions are making hummus in different styles. The Israeli style is usually very smooth, contains a substantial amount of tahini and topped with spices and olive oil and some other toppings like pine nuts, minced meat or satueed mushrooms. Level of acidity from fresh lemon is varied depending on preference. So it can still be Israeli style but more acidic or less. I like mine with a lot of lemon. The tahbelah is a lemony-chili-garlic sauce that many times added in Israel to the hummus (or on the side) to add some kick.
The hummus came out delicious! First time making hummus from scratch, and it was worth the effort. Question: Is there a shortcut for making it with canned chickpeas? How many cans, ounces? The tatbelah sauce did not come out correctly for me, I think. I used pickled peppers (2-3 inches long), but with that much lemon juice the sauce was very, very thin and watery. I was wondering if you used larger peppers? No ounces listed in the recipe for the peppers.
Hi Karen! Great to read your Hummus was delicious. Yes you can used canned chickpeas as a shortcut. As a rule of thumb, multiply dry beans by 2.25 to use cooked beans (drained). And don’t forget to taste and correct seasoning before finishing up!
About the tatbelah sauce – it should be kinda watery, but you can also cut the lemon juice in half or use more pickled peppers. By the way you can also use pickled jalapenos as a substitute which are easy to find! I’d use some of the pickling juice as well in there. Play with the amounts according to your preference, it can be “drier” like pesto or wetter like chunky juice. You can see variations of the consistency all across!
Great recipe ! But far too much garlic!!!!
I would recommend maximum 2 cloves for this volume of hummus. Otherwise a delicious hummus.