roasted garlic hummus

i’ve made hummus a handful of times now, for parties and at parties, so i feel confident to lay down my recipe.

the roasted garlic gives the hummus a subtler flavor than raw garlic, and i think removing the shells from the chickpeas makes the hummus smoother, especially if you’re pureeing it with a mortar and pestle. go easy on the tahini, and adjust the spices as you see fit. i love hummus with baby carrots, pretzels, and tortilla chips. also try warmed pita bread, pita chips, or celery.

ingredients

  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 15-20 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) with liquid
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
  • 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus garnish

instructions

  1. preheat oven to 375F. cut top off of head of garlic. roast for 45 minutes.
  2. meanwhile, drain chickpea liquid into a small saucepan. simmer over low heat.
  3. pour chickpeas onto a plate. pinch off and discard shells, adding each chickpea to the saucepan. this is fun with friends.
  4. when garlic is done roasting, squeeze into a medium mixing bowl and discard skin.
  5. remove chickpeas from liquid and puree with mortar and pestle or food processor until smooth. add to mixing bowl.
  6. add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir until combined. use remaining chickpea liquid to reach desired consistency. season to taste.
  7. serve at room temperature–though i’m used to eating it cold–and garnish with cayenne pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Sunday, June 6, 2004 9:55pm
Food

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23 comments

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jane
6/7/04 10:47am

i can vouch for this one– it’s super yummy. and all without a food processor. my goodness, what a labor of love. i (heart) hummus 4-ever ;)

Kay
5/24/05 10:05am

Yum! I made a variation of this today; to save time on roasting garlic, I seperated the head into individual cloves and roasted them for 25 minutes. I also halved the cayenne and the lemon juice, and instead of boiling the chickpeas I just drained and rinsed them well and mixed everything in the food processor.

Kay
5/26/05 3:49pm

Oh, and I didn’t bother pulling the skins of my chickpeas either.

justin
5/26/05 9:59pm

i dunno, i think shelling the chickpeas may be the sekret step. or maybe i just like the gentle tedium of pulling the shells off each and every pea.

Kay
7/12/05 2:04pm

woo! holy crap! i just tried it again with the full strength of cayenne! OWWW.

It was tasty, but my head is on fire. I’m sticking to half a teaspoon from now on :P

justin
7/12/05 3:15pm

yeah, 1 tsp sounds like a lot of cayenne pepper. i’ve adjusted the recipe on your advice. thanks.

CHRISTBABE10
9/8/05 6:51pm

I just love roasted garlic hummus. What temp. do I roast the garlic for 25 minutes. And how do I mix everything together to get a whipped consistency? Can I put it in a blender?

justin
9/8/05 7:37pm

I roast the garlic around 375°F for 45mins. A blender might work, though you’d probably have more luck with a food processor.

iM
9/10/05 5:16pm

OK. Hummus out of a can? Abu Fuad is turning in his grave. try it one time with hummus cooked from scratch - yes, 4 hours in the pot - and than you can talk.

Krilli
7/12/06 6:18am

Trying this now. Looking forward to taste the stuff. I did some hummus last week with raw garlic, and the taste was a bit on the powerful side. I might have overdone the garlic, though.

The garlic is roasting right now, and there’s some Serious Goodsmell coming up.

Krilli
7/12/06 6:32am

Oh, and iM: I’m using dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked. The packet said they should be cooked for 1-2 hours. I went for two hours, but in your comment and elsewhere on the web, I’ve seen 4 hours mentioned too. Could you elaborate on that? Are the peas more suitable for hummus after more cooking? Is the extended cooking time somehow part of a hummus recipe?

justin
7/12/06 9:47am

Krilli, I’ve never used dried chickpeas, always soaked ones out of a can, so I don’t really know.

Krilli
7/12/06 10:27am

Wow, this is so much different than last week’s hummus. V. good. I like! I’ll probably cut a bit down on the cayenne in the next batch, for mom’s sake :)

Also, I think I’ll use a few of those garlic tops that get cut off before roasting, I’d like more garlicy oomph.

claudia
7/12/06 11:42am

I just made this and it is the best hummus I’ve ever tasted! Yum!

Dori
8/2/06 8:42am

I have tried this recipe several times now, and I really enjoy the suble flavor of roasted garlic. I sometimes end up finding myslef adding a bit more raw garlic at the end to taste. Also, I actually love the cayenne pepper, it gives it such a nice and unique kick!

MrMojoRisin
10/13/06 5:06am

Krilli, I did use the cut tops of the garlic and it was just the right touch. Now I plan to add a few sun dried tomatoes. Fantastic Recipe! Thanks.

Cisco
5/26/07 1:38pm

Try adding extra lemon juice. Yum.

krilli
7/21/07 1:38am

Lime is quite nice too, as is a spoonful of nice unflavored and unsweetened yogurt. At least the semi-fancy organic yogurt.

Devin
10/28/07 8:50pm

Wow, this was a great recipe. I doubled and added an extra head of garlic. Really terrific stuff. Thanks for sharing!!!

Crash
11/17/07 3:20pm

i’m using a 15oz can of chick peas but in my opinion its WAY too salty. i’d recommend people start at .5 tsp and work up from there. i’ll also say this is definitely a spicy hummus. thanks for the recipe!

justin
11/17/07 3:59pm

Crash, I tend to use coarse sea salt, which is a lot less dense than table salt. But yeah, always adjust salt to taste.

bilbobaggins
11/21/07 1:12pm

mmmmm….try it with roasted red peppers, but only those marinated in extra extra virginized olive oil - organic, of course

Caroline
12/23/07 12:38pm

Very nice recipe, i also add in a whole red pepper chunked for some extra crisp. mmmm