Restaurant Style Hummus With Smoked Paprika Drizzle

Growing up in a Lebanese family, I've eaten a lot of hummus. And still, I’m looking for new ways to prepare it. Hummus is health food for some. It’s comfort food to me. It reminds me of spending summers with my grandmother in Brooklyn. She made it the old fashioned way, soaking the dried chickpeas overnight. She always served it with fresh pita, scallions and radishes.

This rich and creamy  hummus is topped with a perky chili-infused oil. Serve it with pita and olives and you've got a fresh, healthy snack or a light lunch. Add it to your favorite vegetarian wrap. Dip chicken or veggies into it. The sky’s the limit.

Restaurant Style Hummus with Smoked Paprika Drizzle  

serves 2-4

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine’s recipe for restaurant style hummus 

Some Notes & Tips 

Store the hummus in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 days.

My favorite brand of tahini sesame paste is from Beirut. I love this one because it pours/stirs so easily even after being refrigerated.  I find it at Middle Eastern grocery stores. Here’s the link.

  

Depending on my mood, I either add ground cumin or I leave it out. Sometimes I pick up another can of chickpeas to scatter on top. 

To view all my hummus and vegetarian recipes, click on the Recipe Index.

Ingredients For The Hummus

• 1 16-ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2-3 lemons (I like my hummus lemony)
• Generous 1/3 cup of tahini, well stirred. 
• 1/4 cup of cold water
• 1/8 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin (optional)
• Salt to taste
• To Serve: some whole chickpeas scattered on top, smoked paprika chili drizzle (recipe below), 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds,  a handful of toasted pine nuts,  finely diced or thinly sliced jalapeno peppers

Instructions For the Hummus

Squeeze the juice of half of a lemon into the bowl of a food processor. Add the chickpeas, tahini paste, salt, cumin (if using) and 1/8 cup of olive oil. Pulse to combine. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time while mixing in the food processor, until you reach your desired consistency. You want it to be thick and creamy, not watery or thin. Stop often. Taste often. Adjust salt, scrape down sides of the bowl and add more lemon juice if desired. I used the juice of one whole lemon in this recipe. Then I dowsed it with lots more lemon juice upon serving. Adjust the lemon juice according to your personal taste.
 

Serve it with my smoked paprika chilli drizzle (recipe below) or a very  finely sliced chili pepper. Enjoy!

Smoked Paprika Chili Drizzle Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon of ground red chili pepper or Aleppo Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Warm the olive oil on medium low heat with the chili pepper and smoked paprika and a dash of salt. Once warmed, set aside. The longer it sits the better it will be. Drizzle it over the restaurant style hummus and serve.