If you’ve ever wanted to make hummus the traditional way with dried chickpeas, you’ve come to the right place. It’s almost as easy as making it with the tinned stuff but this time with the addition of a slow cooker.
Slow cooking goodies like and has the added benefit of not smelling the house out while you’re at home all day. Shut the vessel off in another room and forget about it til you wake up to something glorious. It’s like Christmas morning!
For the chickpeas, I added a teaspoon of bicarb soda to the water, as instructed by Alton Brown (and likely many before him) as it helps break down the skins of the legume, making for a smoother hummus. You won’t taste the bicarb at all once it’s cooked, promise.
How to make hummus while you sleep
Take 1 cup dry chickpeas, 1 tsp bicarb soda, and around 4 cups water. Place everything into the bowl of a slow cooker and set to low for 8-12 hours. It’s an easy one to throw on after dinner, or before bed.
If your slow cooker tends to lose a bit of water, just add an extra cup or two to ensure you have enough.
Just add water. Source: Camellia Aebischer
Let the chickpeas go until they’re well cooked, over-cooked even. Softer is better here for a smooth hummus.
Drain (reserving some cooking liquid) and place them in a blender with ¼ cup tahini, ¼ cup olive oil, a clove of grated garlic and a big squeeze of lemon. Season generously with salt, and blend, adding reserved cooking liquid until a smooth paste forms.
The ratios of tahini, oil and lemon are very flexible, so you can adjust to personal taste – I love tahini and often add even more in place of the oil.
Once you’re done, let it cool (you can serve at room temp but it’s nicer chilled), smooth onto a plate creating a well in the middle, sprinkle with paprika or sumac and give it a good lug of olive oil.
Tuck in with some fresh bread or top with roast veg for a meal in itself. Source: Camellia Aebischer
