Small plate · The Levant
Hummus
Chickpeas blended smooth with tahini and lemon.
About the dish
Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea, and the dish’s full name, hummus bi tahini, means chickpeas with tahini. It is eaten across the Levant and far beyond, scooped up with warm pita.
The base is chickpeas cooked until they are very soft, blended while still warm with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Texture is where cooks differ. Many add a pinch of baking soda to the soaking or cooking water, which helps soften the skins; some peel the chickpeas one by one for a smoother result; and a splash of ice water blended in at the end makes the hummus lighter and paler.
Tahini, a paste of ground sesame, gives richness and a faintly bitter edge, the lemon brings sharp sourness, and the chickpeas add an earthy, savory base. Hummus is spread in a shallow swirl on a plate and finished with olive oil, a dusting of paprika or sumac, chopped parsley and a few whole chickpeas. It is also served warm and topped with spiced ground lamb or with stewed fava beans.
Written from general cooking knowledge, as background on a dish from the game’s recipe book. It is not a tested recipe.
The flavors it leans on
Hummus in Night Kitchen
In the game, Hummus is a small plate in the recipe book. A plate is named Hummus when it holds these cards and no technique at all, with at most one extra ingredient.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas
- Tahini
- Lemon
How those cards taste
Cooked from just these cards for an average ticket, before tonight’s mood and quirks, it would please Mr. Vane (2 stars), Theo (2 stars) and Odile (2 stars) most.
“Chickpeas, sesame paste and lemon, smooth as a good line. No stove needed.”
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