Hummus without Tahini

I love hummus. In Canada it's a staple. Growing up, I always thought it didn't taste like anything, and didn't care for it. But over the years, I grew to crave the subtle flavour and protein-rich creaminess of the chickpeas. I missed it a lot living in Indonesia, because it went from staple to exotic delicacy, which was almost impossible to find even in restaurants. Considering this, I find it hard to believe I didn't start making my own hummus earlier. But my mental block was always the price of tahini, which was an elusive pantry item in Indonesia. Anyway, I still can't be bothered to have tahini on hand all the time, so I was happy to find it is extremely easy to make delicious hummus without tahini: you can simply add extra olive oil to compensate from the absence of the sesame paste. This recipe is the combination of a tahini-free recipe from The Spruce Eats, and a Rachel Allen recipe from Home Cooking. I love the zestiness of the lemon juice paired with the toasted garlic and cumin tempering. And, of course, I love that I can make it without a special trip to the grocery store.

Hummus without Tahini:

Ingredients:

• 1c dry chickpeas, soaked and cooked; drain the water but save it
• Juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
• 1 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 cup chickpea water
  
  For the tadka (tempering):
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 heaping tsp cumin seeds
  
  To serve:
• olive oil to drizzle
• Fresh ground pepper, sumac, or kashmiri chili powder
• Chopped olives or any other topping you want

Directions:

1. To prepare the chickpeas: measure out 1 cup of dried chickpeas. Soak about twice their volume of water overnight, and then boil for 40-60 minutes, until they are easily crushed by your fingers and feel soft. Drain the chickpeas, but save 1 cup of the water for later
2. Prepare the tempering (tadka): With a mortar and pestle, crush the cumin seeds, and set aside, then crush the garlic roughly. Combine the cumin seeds, garlic, and oil in a small pot and heat over low heat for 3-5 minutes, until the garlic is just starting to brown and the oil is fragrant
3. Place the cooked, drained chickpeas in a food processor, pour in the tempering mixture, as well as the lemon juice and salt. Blend on medium speed until the mixture is totally smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the chickpea water to the mixture to loosen it, and gradually add more until you achieve the desired consistency. I added a 1/2 cup , though my hummus was fairly thick as you can see below. You could add more for a lighter consistency.
4. Adjust seasonings to taste
5. To serve, place in a bowl or on a small plate and drizzle with olive oil and any desired toppings

Enjoy!