Lemon Tahini Hummus

Ingredients

• Hummus

  400 g canned chickpeas

  ready-cooked; weigh 400 g AFTER draining, rinsing and draining again; typically about two 400 g cans, check drained yield

• 80 g hulled tahini

  smooth paste from roasted sesame; stir the jar thoroughly before weighing

• 50 g fresh lemon juice

  strained, no seeds; squeeze as needed to reach 50 g

• 4 g garlic

  peeled edible weight; finely grate

• 3 g fine table salt

  entire added salt allowance

• 80 g cold drinking water

  80 ml, refrigerated; rinse water is separate and discarded

• Measured finish

  15 g extra virgin olive oil

  all for the finished surface; none in the processor

Directions

1. Drain the canned chickpeas

   Wash hands and use clean equipment. Open enough cans of ready-cooked chickpeas to yield 400 g after rinsing and draining; usually about two 400 g cans. Tip into a sieve and discard the canning liquid. This recipe does not use dry or undercooked chickpeas.

2. Rinse, drain and weigh

   Rinse the chickpeas under cool running drinking water, then let drain thoroughly. Weigh 400 g drained rinsed chickpeas into a clean bowl. Keep all 400 g for the dip; do not reserve any for garnish. Refrigerate any excess chickpeas separately for another use.

3. Grate the garlic

   Peel and weigh 4 g garlic, then finely grate it into a small clean dish. Do not use a whole large bulb or add extra garlic later.

4. Squeeze and strain the lemon

   Wash and dry the lemon before cutting. Squeeze and strain enough juice to give 50 g. Remove seeds. No zest or lemon slices are added to the hummus.

5. Add the tahini

   With the processor switched off, fit the blade and scrape all 80 g thoroughly stirred hulled tahini into its empty bowl. The sesame paste should be uniform rather than dry sludge from the bottom of the jar.

6. Add the lemon juice

   Pour all 50 g strained lemon juice into the tahini. Keep the processor switched off for additions.

7. Add the grated garlic

   Scrape all 4 g grated garlic into the processor bowl.

8. Add the measured salt

   Add all 3 g fine table salt. This is the whole added salt allowance; canned chickpeas and tahini can also contain sodium.

9. Blend the tahini base

   Fit the lid and process for about 45–60 seconds until the base is evenly blended and slightly lighter. Stop, switch off and unplug before opening or scraping. The base may thicken at this point; the water added later loosens it.

10. Add all the chickpeas

    With the processor stopped and unplugged, add all 400 g drained rinsed chickpeas to the blended base. There are no reserved whole-chickpea toppings.

11. Add the cold water

    Pour all 80 g cold drinking water over the chickpeas. Rinse water and canning liquid are not substitutes in this measured recipe.

12. Blend until creamy

    Refit the lid and process for 2–3 minutes, pausing to scrape down once or twice. Stop, switch off and unplug before opening, scraping or reaching near the blade, and refit the lid before restarting. Continue until creamy with no large whole chickpeas; a little fine texture is normal. Do not add extra oil, water or seasonings.

13. Transfer, cover and chill

    Switch off and unplug the processor. Carefully remove the blade, then scrape all hummus into a clean shallow covered container. Refrigerate at 40°F(4°C)or below for at least 30 minutes, until chilled throughout. Keep the 15 g oil separate until serving.

14. Spoon into a dish and make swirls

    Transfer all the chilled hummus into a shallow serving dish. Use the back of a clean spoon to spread it and make shallow circular grooves. The surface is still plain; the oil goes on next.

15. Add the oil and serve cold

    Drizzle all 15 g extra virgin olive oil into the grooves and serve cold as six equal meze portions. No paprika, parsley, sesame seeds, whole chickpeas or extra oil are included. Bread and vegetable dippers are optional extras outside this recipe and nutrition estimate. Keep covered leftovers at 4°C or below and use within 3 days as a cautious home-storage limit, not a validated shelf life. Refrigerate within 2 hours of leaving the fridge, or 1 hour above 90°F(32°C); discard portions left out longer.